Hello, everyone! I am from a small town outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, called Berryhill. I love my community and have deep connections to it; I am the third generation to graduate high school from Berryhill! I was blessed to grow up surrounded by my family. I spent many summers learning to garden with my grandparents, exploring museums with my dad, and dancing to disco music around the house with my mom. We also have a precious new addition to our family -- our rescue dog, Baxter!
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| Image Information: Personal Photo of my my dog and me |
However, my older sister, Nicole, has undoubtedly had the biggest impact on who I am today. Nicole struggled with cerebral palsy, but was always incredibly joyful. She taught each of us compassion and love! Although I miss her every day, I am encouraged to pursue my passions so that I can make a difference someday for children like her.
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| Image Information: Personal photo of my sister and me |
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| Image Information: Personal photo of some of my friends and me during our freshman year at OU. |
I have always had a love of learning. In particular, I am interested in politics, public policy, and international relations. Through my education abroad experiences, I have expanded my love of these subjects to encompass a greater understanding of the ways in which history and culture impact the way that states interact with each other and approach policy decisions. I am especially passionate about issues regarding education and human rights, but I am excited to learn about diverse subjects this semester! I spent this summer is Washington, D.C. working for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Although I had no previous knowledge of environmental policy, I truly enjoyed learning and working for the good of the committee! Washington, D.C. is definitely now one of my favorite places, and I hope to move back there after graduation this spring. It is just so special to be surrounded by so much history and culture each day!
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| Image Information: Personal photo of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda: my favorite room in the Capitol! |
I am thrilled to get the opportunity to learn with and get to know each of you all through out this semester!
Hey Audra!
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome that you are passionate about policy and government. I feel like a lot of people in college are not interested in that area when it should be an area of high interest since it is so important to every citizen's life. I haven't had the opportunity to study abroad but it sounds like you had some fun experiences getting to visit all those countries. I have also been to London, Paris, and Amsterdam but I would have to say my favorite was Paris. I thought the impressionist museum was crazy! I have never seen art like that before. This is my senior year as well (5th year) and I too am getting that case of nostalgia.
Audra,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, you sound like a very interesting person with your feelings in the right place! I have a lot of friends from Tulsa who come and visit on occasions. I agree it feels like just yesterday I was sitting in my freshman semester Chem I lecture hall..Crazy how fast time can seem to fly by. I respect your passion for helping other children like your sister; that is really cool she taught you compassion and love in life. Those two things are very important and can be taken for granted sometimes.
Hi Audra!
ReplyDeleteI read about you sister (who also has my name!) and she reminded me of my cousin who suffers from severe autism. My cousin was always joyful and loving despite her condition. She really taught me the meaning of family and compassion. I love my cousin to death, and I hope you continue growing and learning from your sister.
On a different note, I think it's great that you're interested in politics! Political science always goes over my head, so I'm happy to hear that there are brilliant people like you who have the passion for political science! You said you have a minor in international studies. Do you plan to continue your studies abroad?
It is so nice to know someone who is doing Constitutional Studies, Audra! That is a program that has started very recently at OU, and I think it is a great contribution to the opportunities that students have to learn about our society. They have been doing so many great public events today, giving everybody opportunities to learn about our constitutional heritage! As you can imagine, the projects in this class are all over the place since there is not the same content focus like in Indian Epics, so I am sure you can find something to intersect with your interests, whether that is the cute Baxter or politics or your hopes for children with CP. Did you see where Lego introduced just this week its first-ever character who uses a wheelchair? I thought that was great! I heard about it at NPR: Lego, In A First, Will Unveil A Minifigure In A Wheelchair ... Re-imagining stories to make room for more diverse characters is such a positive storytelling challenge, so maybe that is something you will want to explore in class this semester!
ReplyDeleteIt's cool that you were in DC this summer because I was there as well. I went with my best friend and we only went for the museums so we were a little less productive than you but I loved it. I love museums (I assume you like them as well--after all you didn't say your dad had to drag you kicking and screaming to the museums) and I also loved DC. It's an amazing city, there's so much to do while there. I hope to go back as well. Did you get the chance to explore any of the museums?
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Carmen. Reading about your trip to D.C. and interest in politics made me think about my time working for the political communication center. It's an office at OU, and they catalog political adds. They keep track of the the political adds that candidates running for office put out. This includes national adds, ads for senate, governor, representatives etc. You should check them out, especially since they are local. Sounds like something you might be interested in.
ReplyDeleteHey Audra! I really enjoyed reading your introduction. I have read many introductions for this class as they are my favorite section to read cause everyone has a different story and some of them are so cool. I think rescuing a dog is awesome and I have always wanted to rescue one and probably will some day. Right now I have a golden retriever and I am not sure how he would react with another dog and not getting all the attention haha. Like you, my older sibling, my brother has made one of the biggest impacts on me and my life. It truly is a blessing to have an older sibling and watch them grow up in front of you so you can learn from them. I look forward to reading more of your blog and good luck the rest of the semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Audra! WOW, you sound so excited and eager about politics! I love that you are ready to take on the future! You are inspiring and truly incredible to get to know. I also want to say that the amount of love that you show for your sister is inspiring as well. My cousin actually has cerebral palsy as well and people forget that although they may look different, they are true miracles and blessings to have in life. I know she is looking down and smiling at you! Great to get to know you!
ReplyDeleteAUDRA!! I am so glad that I clicked only our name and read your intro. I decided that I wanted to meet someone new in this class and your name stuck out to me... Must have been God. Any who, I spent last summer interning with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington, D.C. While in D.C., I worked on Capitol Hill in a senator's office. When I saw the picture of the rotunda on your page, I automatically knew that is had to be D.C. related. I really enjoyed my experience as well, and would not mind moving back to D.C., either. I am set to graduate this coming December. I wish you luck in all that you do upon graduation, sounds like you're off to a good start! I would love to talk more about your experience.
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice to meet you. There is such a wide diverse group of majors in this class. It is nice to meet people with such different backgrounds and goals in life. You seem to have such a passion for politics and human rights. I'm sure you will do something amazing with your education. Have a great semester and congrats on graduating soon.
ReplyDeleteHey Audra!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I have to ask...are those clogs in your profile photo?? I'm just curious why you would be standing in front of a rack of clogs...haha
I love that you and your friends get together on a regular basis! My freshman year, I roomed with my best friend and we saw each other all the time. But for sophomore and the first half of my junior year, I lived with my parents and she moved into a house with our other friend...and we hardly ever saw each other! We've been best friends since kindergarten, but we're just really bad about making plans! Plus, she's double majoring in Dance and chemistry or something ridiculously smart like that, so she has no free time. :p But now we live together again, so it's a little better!
Anyway, long story short: I really admire that commitment to your friends! It's hard to pull away from responsibilities and make the effort to spend time with people, especially when you're not used to having to "schedule" time for fun.
And I love your dog! She's adorable :)
That internship sounds awesome! That's great that you had such an amazing opportunity. I hope it opens some doors for you to return to D.C.!
Audra, congratulations on almost graduating! That is also so cool that you spent this last summer in Washington D.C.! I actually have family that live there, and I will agree with you that it is such a cool place. Did you go to any of the monuments while you were there? Although it's not in D.C., Mount Vernon (George Washington's house) is really cool! I hope that you get to move back to D.C. after you graduate. I look forward to reading some of your work for this class!
ReplyDeleteHey Audra, nice to meet you! First off, it is so cool that you got to intern in Washington DC! I've never been, but I've always wanted to visit! You sound like you know exactly what you want to do with your life after graduation and that is great! Reading your introduction was very inspiring! Good luck with your last semester and graduation! I look forward to reading some of your stories for this class!
ReplyDeleteHi Audra! I’m only a junior but I still feel the same way you do in feeling like college just started. I love that you’re still friends with the girls you met freshman year. I think it’s such a great idea that you guys meet up every month to catch up! I’ve never been to Washington D.C. before, but I really want to go. I’d love to see all the monuments!
ReplyDeleteHi Audra,
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy doing this assignment in this class when we have to read others introductions because I love meeting other people and it is really nice to meet you. I really enjoyed reading your introduction. You sound like a very interesting person with your feelings in the right place. How cool that you are doing Constitutional Studies and you are passionate about policy and government. I hope you have great semester and wonderful future.
Hi Audra, nice to meet you! I can’t believe you have all those major and minors, that’s awesome. It sounds like you really know what you want to do and are passionate about it. I’m sure having an internship in DC was a great experience! That must have been so cool! Good luck with the rest of your semester and after graduation!!
ReplyDeleteHi Audra! It's nice to meet you! I'm also very interested in history and culture and the ways that they impact the world today--thus the anthropology major! But Letters also sounds very cool, especially Constitutional Studies, and that internship in D.C. sounds like it was a blast! I've been to D.C. a couple of times with my family, but only ever to do touristy stuff. And it's awesome that you love the community you grew up in so much--I feel the same way about mine back home, and it's awesome to go back and visit!
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