Valeria Ochoa

Hometown: Bristol, PA

Intended Major: Political Science with concentration of Educational Studies, and possibly Physics

Possible Career: Somewhere in the research vector, either as a physicist or educational research; dream would be Department of Education.

5 Words: Nerds out on many topics. 

What impact do you want to have on the world?

Improve education in all realms: the practice of education, creating more spaces for students, or people in general, to discuss things comfortably. I want to make information accessible to everyone. Making education a basic right, but also personalized to each student to an extent to have the efforts of teaching be effective. I want to redefine education and make it a process that we are constantly aspiring to advance. 

Name a person you admire.

Eartha Kitt. She was truly a jack of all trades. 

What is something you are proud of so far in your life?

Making it to Swarthmore through the Questbridge match and having the honor of being chosen as a Philip Evans Scholar!

What have been the most valuable Evans Scholars program experiences for you?

Visiting Philly with the group of newly chosen scholars of the graduating year 2019. We grew together as a small family and learned of each other's experiences before coming to Swarthmore. I've only really had this experience, but the people I met there are still valuable friends I have today. 

What was the most transformative class you have taken and/or what subjects do you want to explore deeply?

The most transformative classes I have taken were my two years of Physics. My teacher taught the class a bit differently than others and really took our questions into account instead of rigidly abiding by the curriculum. He was the only person teaching physics in his department, so he had some wiggle room to create his own standards. We explored how our world works, read outside articles and ventured into topics that were much more advanced than what we were learning, but because we urged to know more, he helped us figure out the steps to get there. Right now I am enjoying my into to education class and I hope to continue exploring this topic even further. The readings really speak to my own experiences and that of our current state. They encourage a keen eye at the way our systems work and I would like to continue studying the different theories that are referred to in the pieces. Reading and learning about a topic that I am passionate about secures me even further of my aspirations in the field.