Meet Emma Chan! Emma is a fourth year Environmental Systems major and a Political Science minor from Sunnyvale, California. I had the pleasure of meeting Emma and learning about her passions and interests as a UCSD student.
What made you want to join Her Campus?
I really like giving and receiving tips, tricks and advice so I wanted to be a part of an organization that did that for others and allowed me to contribute myself. I felt like I needed something a bit more creative in college because I am a science major. I wanted to have an opportunity to do something that would allow me to express my own personality a bit more.
What inspired you to pursue an Environmental Systems Major?
I have always been really passionate about environmental issues and conservation and want to pursue that career-wise. I am really interested in science and the environmental research and management process. After I graduate, I am going to try to get a job in conservation biology
What are you involved in on campus?
I work as a tutor in the Learning and Teaching Commons where I help students with chemistry and math. I really enjoy getting students to develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills. Also, I am an intern in a lab at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
What are your hobbies and interests?
Outside of school, I really like to cook and bake. I feel like it’s a good mixture of understanding the science behind food and getting to be creative trying out different flavors and textures. I also really like photography, especially portrait photography, because I can empower people behind the camera and get to understand lighting and composition.
What is your best memory at UCSD so far?
My best memory is from when I was a freshman during the red tides. The ocean was basically glowing blue at night. My friends and I knew it was only going to last for a couple days so we spontaneously got in the car late at night and drove down the hill to Scripps beach so that we could see and experience it together.
What are your favorite books and movies?
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer is a great science fiction novel about bioethics. I think it’s definitely a young adult novel but I’d say that it is great for any age. Another one that is a completely different genre is Emma by Jane Austen. I feel like people would ask me if I had read this book because of my name and I’d say that I hadn’t so eventually I figured I should read it. One of my favorite movies is Invictus. It’s about Nelson Mandela after the apartheid in South Africa and how he supported the rugby team there. It’s a great mix of social issues, sports, and coming together as a community.
What’s something on your bucket list?
I want to see the leaves on the East Coast in the Fall. In California, we do have some colorful leaves but not compared to the pictures I have seen over there. I’d love to see that one day.