My favorite song on Taylor Swift's '1989' album is 'Welcome to New York.' Lately, music has been going into the phase of being sad and feeling the existentialism of life, at least that's what I've seen in the artists I've listened to since I was in junior high. 'Welcome to New York' right in its opening is not a sad song with its upbeat nature. The lyrics in the chorus of, "the lights are so bright but they never blind me," offer just optimism through the hard times. I think it's very common for those of us that grew up with the internet and those of us that have social media tend to "doom scroll," where all we do is look at the negative news that pops up on our feed. 'Welcome to New York' is also my favorite song off the '1989' album because it offers happiness and optimism in bleak times. Plus, this song follows the pattern of verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge and then the final chorus, which I always love and find very comforting. I especially love this song because I feel like this is Taylor's love letter to her home, she has a main residence in New York, and I really like when artists make songs or even albums related to times or places in their lives. It feels like they're letting us into their souls a bit and letting us get to know them better. Which is so great to have when you admire a person so much. Also, with the idea of New York, the "big apple" has always been known as a place where people want to find themselves and transform themselves. I love that she paid homage to it with the line, "Everybody here was someone else before," which hasn't really been that popular before. Further, this was Taylor Swift's first pop album and I felt like this song in itself was a metaphor for the new beginning for her, the breaking out of country to go across genres. That's again shown in the first verse with the line, "Everybody here wanted something more, searching for a sound we hadn't heard before." Again referencing the feeling of transformation and change. This was really relevant to my life because I had just started High School when this album came out and I wanted to try to transform myself and find myself. This song meant more to me when I went to college where I truly learned what transformation and self-discovery were.

To start, I was not the best at taking care of my health and well-being when I started college. I did not eat the most well-balanced meals, I severely neglected my mental health and I avoided exercise like the plague. I don't blame myself for that time, I just didn't have the tools I needed to be able to take care of myself in that way. The lack of managing my personal wellness changed when it came to my Sophomore year of college. I knew something needed to change, so I decided to start therapy. Now, that being said, not all of my problems were magically changed the moment I started therapy. I still had issues with myself, but therapy allowed me the avenue to talk about the problems I had and offered a start to solutions. I had, and still have to this day, anxiety and depression. Therapy gave me a baseline to start developing healthy coping mechanisms. My unhealthy coping mechanisms included binge eating, overspending and not having a consistent sleep schedule. Due to all of this, I did not have the energy or motivation to go to class or do my school work, which severely damaged my grades (almost to the point where I almost lost the scholarship I had with the school) and I was in jeopardy of losing my job at the time. Both were very detrimental to my college career. Slowly but surely, thanks to therapy, was I able to have the confidence to build healthy coping mechanisms and then other pieces in my life started to fall into place. I developed a regular sleep schedule, I started eating regularly and I minimized overspending where I could. I am still not perfect at it, but my conscious effort helps me be able to do the things I needed to do, which at the time was to attend classes. My grades improved, I found the confidence to apply to internships and I was able to have a successful college career that set me up for my first job after college and I was able to have one right after graduating. Therapy allowed me to set a baseline of maintaining my health and well-being to where now I can integrate more of that into my adult life and eventually when I start my master's program, I will already have all the tools I need to succeed. I won't be starting from zero and the climb I will have to take won't be as difficult. I have some tools I need to succeed and I am still adding more to my toolbelt; I know I'll be able to succeed in grad school and not struggle like I did in my undergrad years.

To start, I was not the best at taking care of my health and well-being when I started college. Despite being excited to learn a bunch, make new friends and start my career. I did not eat the most well-balanced meals, I severely neglected my mental health and I avoided exercise like the plague. I don't blame myself for that time, I just didn't have the tools I needed to be able to take care of myself in that way. The lack of managing my personal wellness changed when it came to my Sophomore year of college. I knew something needed to change, so I decided to start therapy. Now, that being said, not all of my problems were magically changed the moment I started therapy. I still had issues with myself, but therapy allowed me the avenue to talk about the problems I had and offered a start to solutions. I had, and still have to this day, anxiety and depression. Therapy gave me a baseline to start developing healthy coping mechanisms. My unhealthy coping mechanisms included binge eating, overspending and not having a consistent sleep schedule. Due to all of this, I did not have the energy or motivation to go to class or do my school work, which severely damaged my grades (almost to the point where I almost lost the scholarship I had with the school) and I was in jeopardy of losing my job at the time. Both were very detrimental to my college career. Slowly but surely, thanks to therapy, was I able to have the confidence to build healthy coping mechanisms and then other pieces in my life started to fall into place. I developed a regular sleep schedule, I started eating regularly and I minimized overspending where I could. I am still not perfect at it, but my conscious effort helps me be able to do the things I needed to do, which at the time was to attend classes. My grades improved, I found the confidence to apply to internships and I was able to have a successful college career that set me up for my first job after college and I was able to have one right after graduating. Therapy allowed me to set a baseline of maintaining my health and well-being to where now I can integrate more of that into my adult life and eventually when I start my master's program, I will already have all the tools I need to succeed. I won't be starting from zero and the climb I will have to take won't be as difficult. I have some tools I need to succeed and I am still adding more to my toolbelt; I know I'll be able to succeed in grad school and not struggle like I did in my undergrad years.

To start, I was not the best at taking care of my health and well-being when I started college. I did not eat the most well-balanced meals, I severely neglected my mental health and I avoided exercise like the plague. I don't blame myself for that time, I just didn't have the tools I needed to be able to take care of myself in that way. The lack of managing my personal wellness changed when it came to my Sophomore year of college. I knew something needed to change, so I decided to start therapy. Now, that being said, not all of my problems were magically changed the moment I started therapy. I still had issues with myself, but therapy allowed me the avenue to talk about the problems I had and offered a start to solutions. I had, and still have to this day, anxiety and depression. Therapy gave me a baseline to start developing healthy coping mechanisms. My unhealthy coping mechanisms included binge eating, overspending and not having a consistent sleep schedule. Due to all of this, I did not have the energy or motivation to go to class or do my school work, which severely damaged my grades (almost to the point where I almost lost the scholarship I had with the school) and I was in jeopardy of losing my job at the time. Both were very detrimental to my college career. Slowly but surely, thanks to therapy, was I able to have the confidence to build healthy coping mechanisms and then other pieces in my life started to fall into place. I developed a regular sleep schedule, I started eating regularly and I minimized overspending where I could. I am still not perfect at it, but my conscious effort helps me be able to do the things I needed to do, which at the time was to attend classes. My grades improved, I found the confidence to apply to internships and I was able to have a successful college career that set me up for my first job after college and I was able to have one right after graduating. Therapy allowed me to set a baseline of maintaining my health and well-being to where now I can integrate more of that into my adult life and eventually when I start my master's program, I will already have all the tools I need to succeed. I won't be starting from zero and the climb I will have to take won't be as difficult. I have some tools I need to succeed and I am still adding more to my toolbelt; I know I'll be able to succeed in grad school and not struggle like I did in my undergrad years.

To start, I was not the best at taking care of my health and well-being when I started college. I did not eat the most well-balanced meals, I severely neglected my mental health and I avoided exercise like the plague. I don't blame myself for that time, I just didn't have the tools I needed to be able to take care of myself in that way. The lack of managing my personal wellness changed when it came to my Sophomore year of college. I knew something needed to change, so I decided to start therapy. Now, that being said, not all of my problems were magically changed the moment I started therapy. I still had issues with myself, but therapy allowed me the avenue to talk about the problems I had and offered a start to solutions. I had, and still have to this day, anxiety and depression. Therapy gave me a baseline to start developing healthy coping mechanisms. My unhealthy coping mechanisms included binge eating, overspending and not having a consistent sleep schedule. Due to all of this, I did not have the energy or motivation to go to class or do my school work, which severely damaged my grades (almost to the point where I almost lost the scholarship I had with the school) and I was in jeopardy of losing my job at the time. Both were very detrimental to my college career. Slowly but surely, thanks to therapy, was I able to have the confidence to build healthy coping mechanisms and then other pieces in my life started to fall into place. I developed a regular sleep schedule, I started eating regularly and I minimized overspending where I could. I am still not perfect at it, but my conscious effort helps me be able to do the things I needed to do, which at the time was to attend classes. My grades improved, I found the confidence to apply to internships and I was able to have a successful college career that set me up for my first job after college and I was able to have one right after graduating. Therapy allowed me to set a baseline of maintaining my health and well-being to where now I can integrate more of that into my adult life and eventually when I start my master's program, I will already have all the tools I need to succeed. I won't be starting from zero and the climb I will have to take won't be as difficult. I have some tools I need to succeed and I am still adding more to my toolbelt; I know I'll be able to succeed in grad school and not struggle like I did in my undergrad years.

I am a woman of color that is bisexual and has high-functioning autism and I am also an immigrant. I knew that right from the beginning and my understanding of the biases and actions people took towards the "different" people genuinely appalled me and still appall me to this day. In college, I saw firsthand the lack of accommodations. So, I made it my goal to make sure every single person could have the opportunity to participate to the fullest extent and expand their knowledgebase of the diverse world and celebrate it. Particularly, when I was Diversity Chair for Delta Sigma Pi, I made sure to keep track and present Heritage Months or specific days celebrating diversity. I presented on why these days or months were ordained as such and I made sure that Brothers that were a part of the diverse communities had the opportunity to share their experiences, if they wanted to. Further, I provided resources for members to further educate themselves and participate in events that celebrated NAU's diverse campus and encouraged their research, especially when big political issues were a hot topic on campus. I was, and still am not a "Diversity Expert," but I had hoped to be the starting point to show that there is more than one perspective in the world. My professional goals go hand-in-hand with why I have an interest in pursuing a master’s degree in Diversity Leadership. My life and professional experiences created a want to be equipped to make a professionally inclusive environment. This is also why I intend to pursue a Ph.D. related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Higher education has always been something I've aspired to do, and my parents have always encouraged participating in higher education. As a first-generation immigrant, education and the ability to receive an education is something I take as a serious privilege and have every intention to take advantage of and pursue. My goal with this master's education is to research and learn as much as I can to then transfer that knowledge into my professional goals as a Diversity Specialist. Being a Diversity Specialist is a relatively new job being created in organizations and companies and the main appeal is the inclusivity. I found that many college organizations have a commitment to inclusivity, but don't exactly have the tools to be able to build that. Delta Sigma Pi was one of those cases where my group promoted diversity and inclusion but didn't have the tools to go further. They had a baseline of equity for all members, but the actual practice wasn't put in until I became their first Diversity Chair. The first step was education and the second was implementation. During my time, I was able to increase the understanding of various cultures, religions and ways of life of our members while slowly introducing events co-sponsored with NAU's Office of Inclusion. That's what I want to do with companies. I want to run my own consulting business that sends people out to do training and work with whoever wants us to talk about diversity and inclusion and what they can do to put it into practice. I know that if work culture can change, the world can change with it as well.

My favorite thing about Disney is the diversity that Disney is showing in the movies and TV shows. While yes, Disney is making more shows and movies with people of color, LGBT+, and disabled folks as the leads. Disney also includes little details of diversity in the background. For example, in Turning Red, multiple background characters show representation. When a girl screams in the bathroom after seeing Mei Mei in full Panda mode, she is wearing a Dexcom, showing the representation of those with diabetes. In the same movie, in the background of the main group of girls singing as Mei Mei tries to get on the bus, there is a character in a wheelchair using public transportation. Then, in the Baymax Shorts, there are multiple lead and background characters showing diverse representation. In the Baymax episode talking about menstruation, there is a character wearing the Trans-Pride Flag as a shirt suggesting a type of pad for Baymax to buy. It's the little things like this that make a big difference to kids like me who didn't grow with seeing people like me on the screen. The basics have started to where we will soon get multi-faceted characters that are as complex and diverse as people I know and the person I am soon spearheading major projects at Disney. I grew up on Disney and they are now making movies and shows and more of things I wish I had as a kid. I'm so grateful that when I get older and have kids I will be able to share Disney with my children. They will have the stories I needed when I was younger and they will be able to be proud of who they are through the representation on screen. I also love Disney because they are committed to an inclusive environment. When going to Disney Sponsored events, I find that I am surrounded by the kindest and most caring people who would do anything to make sure everyone feels welcomed and that they are in a safe space. Disney has taken precautions to not only show representation on screen but to also show that type of dedication in their policy rules for their workers and what things the company promotes. I also appreciate they have always tried to do what's right and have acknowledged the mistakes they've made in the past and that they were going to keep trying to learn and grow as we do in society. And I think that is a wonderful message about life. Disney just keeps on teaching me things as I'm a grown adult.

My father, Thomas Chow, has had the greatest effect on my life. My father was born in Burma, which is now Myanmar, and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 16. He didn't know the language, the culture, the customs. All he and his family knew was they could not stay where they were. My father, and mother, adopted me from China in 2001. He was 53 years old at that point, a relatively late time to have children for his generation. He is now 75 years old and he is still working to this day. He is doing the best he can at the moment to provide for his family and even help his grown daughter continue to receive her education. My father is my inspiration, even when I didn't realize it. I didn’t truly understand my father until college. He wanted what was best for me and he saw the best way was to get an education. I was a semi-above-average student in high school, and it seemed at the time his only obsession was me getting into college. For a moment in my life, I thought that was all I was worth, my grades. It wasn't until later did I realize it was that he didn't want me to struggle like he did. He has worked minimum wage jobs all his life (even to this day) and he wanted me to go to college so I wouldn't have to endure the same things he did. I am sorry to say that it took me that long to realize that. I am thankful for his sacrifices, so I can live the life I do now. I have heard little stories of the life he lived in then-Burma, but the ones I did hear were what it was like to live under an authoritarian and strict government where the only thing he could do was survive rather than thrive. I heard of the struggles he had to face when he came to the U.S. He dealt with racism and classist behaviors where all he could do was try to keep his head down and survive again. He wanted better for me, he wanted me to be successful and thrive. On that note, because of learning from his experiences, he taught me to value opportunities while also understanding the need to work hard for opportunities. My father struggled all his life and I learned from his struggle to work hard. I would not be in my current job without that lesson. He always said, "Always be early, do what you are given, but if you have questions ask them." To get my job as an Assistant Research Analyst at the Arizona State Senate, I worked hard to get into the Arizona Legislative Internship Program and before that, I worked hard to get into college, I worked hard to earn my high school diploma, etc. It was a domino effect. I wouldn't be the person I am without those lessons. If I had the choice of who I wanted to be my father, it would always be him. We have clashed multiple times in our lives, we have argued and disagreed, but most importantly we have loved each other unconditionally. When I came out to my family as bisexual, he was the first one to say he'd always love me, no matter what. I have never been more thankful for the happenstance of being placed with him when I was adopted, and I wouldn't trade anything for my life to change. I only hope I can continue to make him proud.

My career goals go hand-in-hand with why I have an interest in pursuing a master’s degree in diversity leadership. My life and professional experiences created a want to be equipped to make a professionally inclusive environment. Long-term, I aim to be a Diversity Specialist to aid companies, non-profit organizations and whoever else that works with diverse communities to ensure they offer a safe and inclusive space for all that work for them. I have had to rely on my limited research to learn about other religions and this degree will allow me to enhance my knowledge base while also being able to discuss how to handle complex situations that may occur. This will give me a great baseline for when I further my education after earning my master's degree. I further intend to pursue a Ph.D. related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Higher education has always been something I've aspired to do, and my parents have always encouraged participating in higher education. As a first-generation immigrant, education and the ability to receive an education is something I take as a serious privilege and have every intention to take advantage of and pursue. My goal with this master's education is to research and learn as much as I can to then transfer that knowledge into my professional goals as a Diversity Specialist. Being a Diversity Specialist is a relatively new job being created in organizations and companies and the main appeal is the inclusivity. I found that many college organizations have a commitment to inclusivity, but don't exactly have the tools to be able to build that. Delta Sigma Pi was one of those cases where my group promoted diversity and inclusion but didn't have the tools to go further. They had a baseline of equity for all members, but the actual practice wasn't put in until I became their first Diversity Chair. The first step was education and the second was implementation. During my time, I was able to increase the understanding of various cultures, religions and ways of life of our members while slowly introducing events co-sponsored with Northern Arizona University's Office of Inclusion. That's what I want to do with companies. I want to run my own consulting business that sends people out to do training and work with whoever wants us to talk about diversity and inclusion and what they can do to put it into practice. I see this changing my life trajectory because I am currently working in Public Policy and I know that a career change will ultimately lead to more happiness and overall satisfaction. I will be overall happier and more satisfied with my life rather than settling.

Being depressed and anxious is a bigger hindrance than many people could understand, especially when you have parents that do not understand the idea of "mental health" and thought therapy was taboo. Throughout getting my undergraduate degree, I struggled with getting out of bed for classes, I even had the struggle of getting out to prepare myself food. My social anxiety would make it hard for me to get on a bus to get to class or even walk to it. Having mental illnesses makes it so degrading when you have responsibilities to yourself and others. I was never able to maintain a romantic relationship and had few personal and meaningful friendships. It wasn't until I started therapy at my school did I finally see a breakthrough. I used to be the overachiever type of person that was a people pleaser. My anxious self wanted everyone and anyone to like me and when I didn't meet those standards, my depression worsened (it was a contributing factor to not starting therapy in high school when I truly needed it). I decided to seek help and that was a battle in itself. Not only the conflicting belief of being raised that going to therapy made you inferior, but there was also a money issue. I tried apps with the promise of ease of access, but those cost too much money and I didn't want my parents to find out I was doing therapy (for fear of their inability to understand the usefulness of therapy and therefore help fund it). So, I settled on going through school and made sure I attended my fast food job enough to be able to afford it. Once I started therapy, I had a much more positive experience. Once I made it past the affordability barrier, I managed to be able to talk about my problems and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Having a therapist and a regularly scheduled time to talk about my struggles helped me normalize my mental health problems and helped me cope with them a lot better. I found self-soothing techniques that I wouldn't have known to look for and therapy helped me realize that there isn't anything wrong with me. There are just obstacles I need to get through to be a functioning human being. I became comfortable in my job so I could then be able to continue with my educational aspirations. I felt confident in being able to manage my depression and anxiety that I now could manage a full-time job and a full-time online graduate program. This is what I wanted to do and it was because of therapy. In college, I saw firsthand the lack of accommodations. So, I made it my goal to make sure every single person could have the opportunity to participate to the fullest extent and expand their knowledgebase of the diverse world and celebrate it. Particularly, when I was Diversity Chair for Delta Sigma Pi, I made sure to keep track and present on Heritage Months or specific days celebrating diversity. I decided I wanted to get a master’s degree in Diversity Leadership to be able to help me further understand the inequalities in the world and how I can do my best to counter them. My goal with this master's education is to research and learn as much as I can to then transfer that knowledge into my professional goals as a Diversity Specialist.

The book everyone in the world should read is American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang. As an Asian American, this book was not only a representation for me, but it resonated with the idea of being proud of where you come from (which I think everyone can relate to). Accepting and loving who you are and where you come from is so important to living a whole life. Whether that being from a low-income background, being a minority or going against the "norm" in any way is something to be proud of. Being different and being treated like you're different (in a bad way) has a multitude of negative effects on people and when someone is told that what makes them different is what makes them special boosts confidence easily. An impeccable storyline and action sequences help people understand what the characters are going through and will help us relate those struggles to what we feel and what we are going through. Being heard and seen will also improve one's life. American Born Chinese integrates Chinese mythology with a serious storyline that allows the reader to understand the struggles of being Chinese in the US while being surrounded by white Americans. The cultural differences are palpable and trying to navigate the line between Chinese and American is hard to walk. American Born Chinese shows that and ultimately shows (spoilers) the journey of acceptance and that you don't have to pick a side. You can be both and live with confidence that you are both and that is perfectly okay.

The dream version of my future self will be working in a career she loves and will have multiple rescue dogs that she can easily afford in a home that she owns with a paid-off car and little to no debt.

Being depressed and anxious is a bigger hindrance than many people could understand, especially when you have parents that do not understand the idea of "mental health" and thought therapy was taboo. Throughout getting my undergraduate degree, I struggled with getting out of bed for classes, I even had the struggle of getting out to prepare myself food. My social anxiety would make it hard for me to get on a bus to get to class or even walk to it. Having mental illnesses makes it so degrading when you have responsibilities to yourself and others. I was never able to maintain a romantic relationship and had few personal and meaningful friendships. It wasn't until I started therapy at my school did I finally see a breakthrough. I used to be the overachiever type of person that was a people pleaser. My anxious self wanted everyone and anyone to like me and when I didn't meet those standards, my depression worsened (it was a contributing factor to not starting therapy in high school when I truly needed it). I decided to seek help and that was a battle in itself. Not only the conflicting belief of being raised that going to therapy made you inferior, but there was also a money issue. I tried apps with the promise of ease of access, but those cost too much money and I didn't want my parents to find out I was doing therapy (for fear of their inability to understand the usefulness of therapy and therefore help fund it). That is one of the negative experiences I've had with the mental health industry. Affordability is a major barrier. So, I settled on going through school and made sure I attended my fast food job enough to be able to afford it. Once I started therapy, I had a much more positive experience. Once I made it past the affordability barrier, I managed to be able to talk about my problems and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Having a therapist and a regularly scheduled time to talk about my struggles helped me normalize my mental health problems and helped me cope with them a lot better. I found self-soothing techniques that I wouldn't have known to look for and therapy helped me realize that there isn't anything wrong with me. There are just obstacles I need to get through to be a functioning human being. That helped me with my career aspirations. When I entered the workforce, I had the chance to put what I've been doing into practice during college to adhere to real-life situations. A deadline is coming up and I have crimping depression, I have these coping mechanisms and know when to prioritize my mental health. I became comfortable in my job so I could then be able to continue with my educational aspirations. I felt confident in being able to manage my depression and anxiety that I now could manage a full-time job and a full-time online graduate program. This is what I wanted to do and it was because of therapy. That's not to say there weren't setbacks, when I entered the workforce, I had to change therapists and later change again and that was a difficult period but it's because of surviving my undergraduate degree, and ultimately thriving from that did I have the confidence to continue onward and challenge myself to thrive.

Being depressed and anxious is a bigger hindrance than many people could understand, especially when you have parents that do not understand the idea of "mental health" and thought therapy was taboo. Throughout getting my undergraduate degree, I struggled with getting out of bed for classes, I even had the struggle of getting out to prepare myself food. My social anxiety would make it hard for me to get on a bus to get to class or even walk to it. Having mental illnesses makes it so degrading when you have responsibilities to yourself and others. I was never able to maintain a romantic relationship and had few personal and meaningful friendships. It wasn't until I started therapy at my school did I finally see a breakthrough. I used to be the overachiever type of person that was a people pleaser. My anxious self wanted everyone and anyone to like me and when I didn't meet that standards, my depression worsened (it was a contributing factor to not starting therapy in high school when I truly needed it). I decided to seek help and that was a battle in itself. Not only the conflicting belief of being raised that going to therapy made you inferior, but there was also a money issue. I tried apps with the promise of ease of access, but those cost too much money and I didn't want my parents to find out I was doing therapy (for fear of their inability to understand the usefulness of therapy and therefore help fund it). That is one of the negative experiences I've had with the mental health industry. Affordability is a major barrier. So, I settled on going through school and made sure I attended my fast food job enough to be able to afford it. Once I started therapy, I had a much more positive experience. Once I made it past the affordability barrier, I managed to be able to talk about my problems and develop healthy coping mechanisms. Having a therapist and a regularly scheduled time to talk about my struggles helped me normalize my mental health problems and helped me cope with them a lot better. I found self-soothing techniques that I wouldn't have known to look for and therapy helped me realize that there isn't anything wrong with me. There are just obstacles I need to get through to be a functioning human being. That helped me with my career aspirations. When I entered the workforce, I had the chance to put what I've been doing into practice during college to adhere to real-life situations. A deadline is coming up and I have crimping depression, I have these coping mechanisms and know when to prioritize my mental health. I became comfortable in my job so I could then be able to continue with my educational aspirations. I felt confident in being able to manage my depression and anxiety that I now could manage a full-time job and a full-time online graduate program. This is what I wanted to do and it was because of therapy. That's not to say there weren't setbacks, when I entered the workforce, I had to change therapists and later change again and that was a difficult period but it's because of surviving my undergraduate degree, and ultimately thriving from that did I have the confidence to continue onward and challenge myself to thrive.