Name: Alicia Chan
UC Irvine Alumni: Class of 2015
This week, Her Campus of University of California, Irvine decided to meet up with 23-year-old Alicia Chan, a recent UCI graduate who majored in Social Ecology with a minor in Anthropology. Alicia still remains in contact with undergraduate students through friends, on-campus organizations, and the UCI Student Alumni Association (SAA). After hosting a dinner for SAA’s Dinner for 12 Anteaters, we wanted to learn more about Alicia’s undergraduate experiences and future plans.
As we asked Alicia about her undergraduate involvements, she cheerfully listed a variety of programs she had worked for during her four years at UCI. Some of these included: vice chapter chair for CalPERS, Hunger and Homelessness coordinator, Students Consulting for Non-profit Organizations (SCNO) senior consultant, Student Parent Orientation Program (SPOP) staffer, peer educator at the counseling center, Anteater Mentorship Program (AMP) mentor, and Social Ecology Access mentor and coordinator. Talking to Alicia about her involvements, she noted differences between college and the real world.
“You’re never going to find a place where you can go to have everything centralized again,” she said. “After graduation, I struggled with meeting new people around my age who have the same interest and it’s so easy on a campus. They make it as easy as possible for you to find people who are likeminded. Unless you get yourself outside of that comfort zone, you don’t really get to have those opportunities that are given/handed to you on a campus.”
Working in the nonprofit sector has always been a goal for Alicia. Originating from her passion for volunteer work, Alicia studied Social Ecology with the hope of helping and working with people one day. She now lives that dream and works as a Programs and Outreach coordinator for the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County.
With all that is going on in Alicia’s busy life, we asked about her future plans. She promptly told us that the first and foremost item on her bucket list is getting a dog! As for her personal life goals, Alicia is considering the possibility of getting her Masters in Education. She and her partner are also thinking about getting married and saving up for a trip to Thailand.
“We’ll see what happens!” she said excitedly.