Nicole Reyes is truly one of Cal Lutheran’s finest! From starting as a peer advisor to becoming a resident assistant, she’s been able to pursue her passion for creating a community for students. She’s a biology major and a psychology minor and studied abroad in Scotland. In a short time she’ll be leaving her mark at Cal Lutheran, amongst the students she’s developed connections with and the staff she’s grown close to, as she graduates from Cal Lutheran. Read about the different experiences she’s had throughout the past four years and the advice to other Cal Lutheran students.
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: Why did you decide to major in biology?
Nicole Reyes: I actually came to Cal Lutheran as undecided, for the first semester that I was here. After that, I decided to switch to bio because I was really looking into doing some type of medicine in the future and then after taking General Psych 2, I ended up really loving psychology. So I decided to minor in psychology.
HCCLU: What are some of the things you’re involved in on campus?
NR: I am currently the Senior Resident Assistant of Mount Clef hall. I’ve been an RA for two years now and before that, in my sophomore year, I was a Peer Advisor.
HCCLU: Why did you decide to go from Peer Advisor to Resident Assistant?
NR: I actually wasn’t thinking about applying to be a Resident Assistant when I was a Peer Advisor because I loved being a Peer Advisor so much. I really loved having that small group of students that I was able to mentor and, personally, I was able to have good relationships with them. Even now, I still see them around campus and we’ll get super excited and it’s really sweet just because again, it was such a small group and we were so close. One of my peer students actually told me that she felt that I was so helpful to my peer group that she suggested that I should apply to be an RA because she thought I would be able to help more people. She said “Honestly, Nicole, you’ve helped us out so much. You would do better helping more people out than staying as a PA.”
HCCLU: So you’re graduating shortly, how do you feel about that? Are you going to miss Cal Lu?
NR: Yeah, I am going to miss Cal Lu, it hurts to hear that I’m graduating soon. Honestly, I am going to miss Cal Lu, I think my fondest memories so far are here on campus with all the people here because everyone has been so sweet. Cal Lu is probably a place that I can really call home. Because everyone here has been so supportive of me, I found myself being my best self here. I grew the most here at Cal Lu and I really found myself here.
HCCLU: Do you have any advice for other Cal Lutheran students? Anything they should keep in mind as they continue life here at Cal Lu?
NR: What I have learned is that we’re very young right now and honestly, yes we graduate in four years. But it’s okay not to know what you’re doing. I think that a lot of my time at school, I was stressing over my future and I remember just thinking to myself “I don’t have a solid plan.” I just stressed over the lack of structure and I realized this is the time to grow as a person because it’s a whole different experience once you graduate. I think my best advice for everyone else is that they shouldn’t really worry too much if they don’t have a solid plan for the future. I would say stress less and be more present, rather than worrying about what’s going to happen in 10 years because I think it’s worth your time to be very appreciative of what you have now.
HCCLU: Do you have any favorite classes that you’ve taken?
NR: As a bio major, I totally recommend this to other people as well, I took herpetology. This class was so much fun. It’s funny because everytime I say herpetology everyone thinks this class is about herpes or some kind of disease of that sort, but no, it’s actually the study of reptiles and amphibians. The reason why this class is so much fun is that it’s mostly field work. So what I actually ended up doing for the class was literally going on field trips and catching lizards and snakes and salamanders and frogs. We even had a camping trip to the Mojave Desert and caught frogs and snakes and lizards. It was a really tough class that kicked my butt because I had to learn over 100 names and the taxonomy of the different reptiles and amphibians. When I first took this class, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, I remember sitting in the class and realizing that I was scared of lizards. The reason why I’m afraid of lizards is because of that scene in Parent Trap when the lizard went into the evil girlfriend’s mouth. So taking this class made me overcome that fear and I became very good at catching lizards. After taking this class I think they are the most adorable things. The second class I really enjoy is Primate Ecology with Dr. Stone, which I’m currently taking. This is the first semester it’s been offered and we literally are learning about primates and the reason why it’s so much fun is because they’re adorable and they’re close to us. So it’s really cool to learn about mammals that way and I ended up going to a few field trips to the zoo and observing primate behavior, learning how primates are actually really smart.
HCCLU: What’s an opportunity you were able to take advantage of?
NR: I was actually able to take advantage of the study abroad center here. I thought I wouldn’t be able to study abroad because I am a resident assistant, I thought studying abroad would only be during the semesters. Then I realized that you can study abroad over the summer. So I went to Scotland for eight weeks and it was so much fun and I recommend everyone to do it. I ended up finishing my psychology minor in Scotland; I took Psychology of Evil, Psychology of Art, Monsters and Vampires, which satisified my literature requirement, and the communications class, Scotland and Film, for fun. These classes came with excursions too so I can’t tell you how many castles I’ve been to; studying abroad is a different experience.
HCCLU: Did you travel a lot while you were abroad or did you stay in Scotland for the majority of the time?
NR: In the first four weeks, I actually had enough time on the weekends to travel. So I went and saw the rest of Scotland, I took a night train to London, and flew to Dublin, Ireland. After the four weeks, I realized that traveling to other places besides the town I was in, which was Stirling, took a lot of time out of my study abroad experience. I appreciated being with the locals and I wanted to keep my relationship with them and I realized that I enjoyed spending my time with them and even though I had a few more weeks where I could have traveled to more places, I developed really close relationships with them and I wanted to enhance those relationships, by staying with them and learning their stories and become accustomed to their lives. My fondest memory is the last day I was there and all the locals ended up throwing a surprise party for me at the pub I frequented, before I left. It was the sweetest thing. There was this one man that I had met and he just gave me £80 and said “Nicole, when you get on the plane, have a really good breakfast and a pint for me. It was really good meeting you.” It was really sad that I left but when you study abroad, you meet some amazing people and it restores your faith in humanity.
HCCLU: Do you have any advice for students who are hoping to study abroad?
NR: Don’t be discouraged by how much it costs or being afraid that you’re going to be homesick because all those factors are fears that you can overcome quickly. There are programs that are doable with scholarships. When it comes to being homesick, I think everyone will get homesick, but studying abroad is definitely worth it. This is the only time you have to do something like this; going abroad and not just being a student, where you can learn new things in classes, but also a traveler and immerse yourself in the culture and be one of them. There’s a big difference between studying abroad and vacationing. So don’t give up, always try to believe in the possibility of studying abroad. Because it is possible.
HCCLU: Do you have any regrets?
NR: Now that I’m reflecting on it, I don’t have any regrets because I feel like I was able to utilize the resources and make the most out of the time here. I was a mentor, I was a peer advisor, I was an RA, now I’m a senior RA, and I studied abroad. I’m a bio major and a psychology minor; I feel like being here at Cal Lu, I was able to do everything I wanted to do. There are definitely different paths I could have taken, but I don’t regret the path that I’m on.
HCCLU: From the different paths you’ve decided to take, going from peer advisor to resident assistant, making the choice to major in biology, and also have a minor in psychology, do you have any words of wisdom for students who are still trying to figure their lives out?
NR: Be open to options that you have here and also understand that not everyone has a concrete path that they have to follow. We’re very young, we’re 18 to 21 year old students here. I don’t think that it’s fair that it’s expected of us to have a concrete life: after college, you should either continue your education and get your masters or Ph.D. Then go and find a job. I think our generation needs to be open to the idea of options. Just because something doesn’t work out, does not mean that it is the end of the world. If something doesn’t work out, then maybe you’re supposed to be doing something else or maybe that wasn’t the best option for you. The worst thing is for something to not work out, then you give up. If anything, here at Cal Lu, I’ve never met anyone who’s given up. I think most people here have been able to figure it out, there are some plans that work out. But for the ones that don’t, just remember that there are plans A through Z. Be okay with change and be open to majors changing and careers changing. We’re all still growing as a person, so your interests can change and they probably will. But that’s okay.
HCCLU: What’s your favorite thing about Cal Lutheran?
NR: I love the people. Everyone here, generally, are genuinely nice. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s nice to walk around in the morning and see a stranger and just smille. You can say good morning and they’ll smile back and say hello. The community that we have on campus is very vital. It’s a very accepting community and it’s something I’m very proud of. That’s one of the reasons why I continue to be an RA because I wanted to enhance that community feeling.
All photos courtesy of Nicole Reyes