From House Manager to future social rights advocate
2020 has been a crazy year, to say the least! We are only halfway through the year and we have already faced wildfires in Australia, a global pandemic, and one of the largest human rights movements in history. During a time when the whole world seems to be anxious, seniors are finishing their last year of college at home. Instead of graduating at UCSB and shaking Chancellor Yang’s hand, seniors are setting up zoom calls with relatives and friends and preparing for at-home graduation ceremonies. It is definitely an odd time to be a graduating student, and one of our own, Anna Talamantes, gets the experience of being a part of the class of 2020.
Anna Talamantes has worked at Arts & Lectures since her freshman year and was steadily promoted to become one of the greatest House Managers of all time. The Arts & Lectures student staff are sad to see her go, but we know that Anna will do amazing things in the future! Anna will be graduating from UCSB on June 13th with a B.S. in Biopsychology. Receiving a college degree has always been very important to Anna as she is a role model in her family. Her mom, aunts, grandparents, and younger siblings all support her and are so proud of her accomplishments.
Personally, I am also inspired by Anna. I remember the first time I talked to Anna about school work, she told me that she enjoyed Organic Chemistry and didn’t find it to be as horrible as everyone makes it seem. I knew then that Anna was an extremely smart and hard-working student. She made me feel less anxious for my second year of college, and she always managed to do an amazing job as House Manager while keeping our work environment fun and positive. Anna always had a smile on her face and she was always laughing at whatever joke we threw her way. She was a pleasure to work with and I will miss her next year.
As Anna looks to the future, she is considering working for a non-profit organization that addresses social injustices. She has been inspired by the recent social rights movement along with movements of the past. Anna hopes to address issues such as food inequality and to support students of color in receiving a higher education through her work. Anna is a giver and she wants to use her knowledge to help others. This is something I truly admire. After working for a couple of years, Anna is planning to attend graduate school and hopefully become a Counselor. Anna and the rest of the seniors from A&L have been incredible mentors and I thank all of them!
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