2024 Our Story

In the second episode in a series highlighting identity CLORGS at Scripps, we're joined by Emma Tao '23, one of the leadership members of AASU (the Asian American Student Union), as she discusses the CLORG's current projects, the difference between AASU and AASP, how she got involved, and much more. 

While there is excitement surrounding being back in-person and on-campus, many students have faced a reality of catching COVID-19 during the semester. This week, we sit down with Scarlette McCullough '24, a CMS athlete who tested positive for COVID-19 in the spring 2022 semester and who was placed in isolation due to symptom tracking in the fall 2021 semester. Listen in as we discuss what isolation looked like, how Scarlette dealt with the situation, and her experiences coming back to campus.

You've seen the parties – maybe event been to them – but what exactly goes into planning 5C events? Kaitlyn Chen '24, the SAS Vice President of Student Activities, joins us to discuss the process and how she's navigated reactions to what SAS has put on as we've returned back to campus. 

What happened when you realized online college courses weren't for you? This week we're joined by Jon'nae Sylvester '24 who took a leave of absence during the spring 2021 semester as we discuss the process, what it means for the rest of her time at Scripps, and more.  

This week we begin a long-awaited series featuring identity CLORGs (clubs and organizations) at Scripps! Ellen and Alyssa are joined by Niva Laurent one of the co-leaders of Watu Weusi as they discuss what the CLORG does, how Niva got involved, and more about being a person of color at a PWI. 

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Watu Weusi is Scripps’ black student union that functions as a collective to support people of African descent both at Scripps and beyond in endeavors of socio-political, cultural, personal, and spiritual existence and resistance.

What happens when you celebrate a cultural or religious holiday that isn't acknowledged by the Scripps academic calendar? In the first episode of the Spring 2022 semester, Ellen and Alyssa are joined by Ella Lehavi '24 and Prekshi '24 to discuss how the school navigates these situations based on experiences from the Fall 2021 semester. 

What does it mean to "find your people" and how do you know someone is "your person"? In this episode, we discuss our experiences finding our support systems while at Scripps as well some of the lessons we've learned along the way.

If you're anything like us, you've been wondering what services MCAPS actually has and how you can utilize them. Or maybe what wellness resources the Tiernan Field House provides that aren't just physical. In this week's episode, we sit down and go through all of the information we've compiled about mental health resources that Scripps students can utilize.

Time flew by and now we're halfway through the fall semester! While it's exciting to think about, it also raises a lot of questions about our futures and where we go from here. Have we decided our majors? Do we feel supported right now? In this episode, we pick up from where we started two weeks ago to figure out where we fall in the college timeline and whether or not we feel ready for everything that has yet to come.

As our first in-person midterms arrive, it's hard not to be stressed. What can we do to check-in on ourselves and take the steps necessary to maintain our mental health? In this episode, we reflect on how we're handling stress and how our mental health has fared over the last few weeks.

Last year we thought about what it was like to make friends online. Now, we're thinking about what it's been like to make and maintain friendships in-person! Have we maintained friendships in-person that we started online? What's it like to make friends in-person after a year of isolation? Join us as we dive into the conversation.

With almost a month of on-campus living under our belts, it's hard not to think about the places and people we were surrounded by over the past year. In this episode, we discuss what exactly we are homesick for and how we've been dealing with it over the past few weeks.

How does time difference affect international students taking online classes? In this episode, Ellen and Alyssa are joined by Madeline Safavi ’24, an international student living in Singapore this academic year with a 15 hour time difference. She discusses taking a leave of absence, how the time difference affected her health, and how she stayed connected to the Scripps community.

After taking biology and chemistry classes at Keck (the shared science department between Scripps, Pitzer, and Claremont McKenna) this year, Ellen and Alyssa share their experience of STEM classes and how they’ve navigated lab online.

For the first time on 2024 Our Story, Ellen and Alyssa are joined by an upperclassman! Ana Rodríguez ’23, a rising junior, shares her experience of leaving campus as a freshman due to the pandemic, how being involved at Scripps has helped her stay engaged with the community, and some advice for incoming freshmen and rising sophomores.

SAS (Scripps Associated Students) holds elections each year for different student government positions such as class president, diversity and inclusivity chair, etc. In this episode, Ellen and Alyssa are joined by Blessing Roland ‘24 who was the first-year class president and will hold the faculty-staff relations chair next year. She talks about her experience running for SAS positions online and how to deal with the social media pressure of running.

Check out the Birthing Project on Instagram: @claremontbpusa

Online classes… are they good or bad? In this episode Ellen and Alyssa are joined by Kirsten Engber ’24 as they discuss their experiences in a Zoom campus while at Scripps and the tips they’ve been using to navigate them.

2020 and 2021 are often described as “unprecedented times”, but what exactly does that mean? In the first part of a series of episodes discussing current events, Ellen and Alyssa talk about how they’re processing recent hate crimes against the AAPI community and how to feel supported during this time.

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Recorded on March 26th, 2021

Like many liberal colleges across the U.S., Scripps College is a PWI (primarily white institution). What does this mean for students of color? In this episode of 2024 Our Story, Ellen and Alyssa are joined by Anais Martinez ’24 as they discuss how they’ve navigated Scripps’ identity-based CLORGS (clubs and organizations) and think about what life will be like on campus in fall 2021.

Starting the second semester of online college, Ellen and Alyssa reflect on the end of their first week of the 2021 spring semester. From breakout rooms, to icebreakers, listen to stories of their Zoom experience and how their perceptions of time have changed.

We’ve all experienced that one moment when the dread hits- you’re going to have to PERM for a class. With it, the excitement of getting the PERM accepted or the sadness of its rejection ensues. In this episode, Ellen and Alyssa are joined by guests Susan Park ’24 and Izzy Silva ’24 as they talk about what PERMing is, their first experiences with PERMs, and class registration.

The Class of 2024’s Core 1 experience has been different than every other Scripps graduating class. Ellen and Alyssa talk about the new formatting and share some of our thoughts from the class. In the end, have they figured out what truth is?

Below you will find a list of the books discussed within this episode:

Minor Feelings: https://bookshop.org/books/minor-feelings-an-asian-american-reckoning/9781984820365

Letters From a Peruvian Woman: https://bookshop.org/books/letters-from-a-peruvian-woman/9780873527781

Citizen: An American Lyric: https://bookshop.org/books/citizen-an-american-lyric/9781555976903

Othello: https://bookshop.org/books/othello-9781627553759/9780743477550

When Scripps announced its plans for the Fall 2020 semester, students were given the choice to enroll or to defer for a semester or a year. In this episode, Ellen and Alyssa welcome guest Grace Hill ’24 to discuss how they made their decisions and their experiences

How do you make friends when you’ve never met anyone at your new school? What does it look like to be friends when you can’t see each other on campus? ​In this episode, Ellen and Alyssa discuss how they became friends and their experiences making friends in an online setting.