As a second year Public Health Sciences major, Oshin Tudayan is busy reaching out to her peers and providing guidance for new students at UC Irvine. Aside from her busy life as a board member for UC Irvine’s Kababayan Club and barista at the Paul Merage Starbucks, Oshin is a mentor for ASUCI’s Antleader Mentorship Program (AMP). Throughout her years at UC Irvine, Oshin has gained many experiences she wishes to share with younger students.
Even as an AMP mentor, Oshin feels like she is learning just as much, if not more, than when she was a first-year AMP mentee. “I feel like the transition to becoming a mentor still hasn’t changed because I’m still learning,” Oshin said. “I’m learning a lot from the mentees this year, and I became way more open minded.”
Although Oshin sees her role as a mentor to be just as new and exciting as her previous experiences as a mentee, Oshin’s current responsibilities do differ. She expresses that she needs to uphold a sense of responsibility by being mindful of the way she communicates with others while spreading knowledge. As Oshin says it, “It’s fun to teach others and spread knowledge because knowledge is key.”
In order to balance her responsibilities as a student, mentor, Kababayan board member, and barista at Starbucks, Oshin advises students to “make do with what they have”. Whether it is a calendar, planner, or whiteboard, Oshin understands the importance of prioritization in order to meet the demands of meeting work schedules, attending board meetings, and finding time to balance her academic courses.
As we continued to talk, I had a chance to ask Oshin about her goals within her next few years at UC Irvine. Besides continuing her outreach to other students through Filipino activities and AMP, Oshin talks about self-discovery and the positive effects on one’s lifestyle.
“It’s really hard to find what you like and what you don’t like. That’s why I ended up putting a lot of stuff on my plate. Being alone is okay, and you need that time to find some Zen, but yeah that’s really my goal this year: to find myself and to take some more time to myself. Now I really emphasize self-care.”