In addition to all the worrying you do about whether or not your kids will be OK when they leave high school to go off to college, your kids worry too. The task of moving my daughter to the University of California San Diego (UCSD) seemed more than daunting for both of us. Rolling thoughts include: What if an emergency happens and I am 2,000 miles away from her? How will she manage the nonprofit tutoring organization (Tutortastic.org) she established the year before?
Establishing medical care was important. Fortunately, San Diego is rated the number 1 hospital system in the country, but it’s still hard to establish health care thousands of miles away. Then there is finding her tribe. She is unique. She is an intelligent astrophysics major who likes producing music and engages in other forms of art.
UCSD was a difficult move-in because there is as much walking on campus as we do in half a year. Within a short period of time, she met her closest friends: Lauren and Monay. They are astrophysics and math majors. These girls of color in STEM bonded and were brought together from three corners of the country.
They converged and made a pact to get through their STEM majors as proud African-American girls. When things got tougher, they knew they could not back down because they were representing women of color. Things were so challenging, they realized why there were so few of them represented in these fields. So they doubled down and worked harder in their biggest challenge of the quarter: Calculus.
Then came COVID, which put my daughter her behind in her classes. Nonetheless, they had to figure out how to pass. They studied together for long hours, putting blood, sweat and tears into it. Their only relief was a midnight venting the week of finals when everyone hurled blood curdling screams out their dorm windows just to relieve the stress. This is an annual event.
In the meantime, my daughter received an opportunity to apply for a program where UCSD sends physics students to Los Alamos National Laboratory (the lab that J. Robert Oppenheimer founded). Out of a few hundred applicants, of which only 30 were chosen, she was one of only three freshman chosen. All of the students received networking and mentorship opportunities, an amazing thing to a freshman.
Peera, Lauren, and Monay struggled through their first quarter of school, but they formed their own chat group and called their group “Hidden Figures” because they intend to be women of color in STEM. On her flight home for Thanksgiving break, a man sitting next to Peera said very loudly, “What are you doing? I’ve never seen something like that before.” Startled, she replied “calculus” and laughed nervously. At this, others turned to look and snickered.
Peera explained she was an astrophysics major, to which he said, “What do you want to be?” A little dumbfounded by his obliviousness, she replied, “An astrophysicist.” Others around them laughed.
We later saw a post about a similar situation on social media, so maybe calculus scaring people on planes is a thing. Oak Park and River Forest have been the incubator for many interesting people in this world. As our kids leave our nests, I take comfort that the universe will take care of them and help them birth something that will make an impact on the world in some big or small manner.
EL Serumaga is a resident of River Forest.