Name: Cai Ping Goh
Class year: 2016
Major/ Minor: Biology/ Film Studies
Hometown: Originally from Long Panai, Malaysia, but currently resides in California.
What are your life goals?
I want to produce animated movies. I have a youtube channel that features my music, travel, and life updates, especially because I travel a lot. I would like to make a show where I can teach people how to take natural materials and make their pets lives more comfortable. I want to show people how to use local products to take care of pets. I would also love to live in London, Singapore, Los Angeles, and Sydney. I took a film studies course at the University of Sydney; the professor was a film philosopher and his course was about what film teaches you about space and time. It was the hardest film studies course I have ever taken!
What inspires you?
My life goals. My mum. My old viola teacher because she is 80 and lives by herself. But she still teaches and goes swimming. It’s amazing.
Best advice you could give to an incoming first year?
If you are finding a course hard, pay attention to what you are good at. We tend to neglect or push away things we are good at and focus on the things we are not good at. That is one of the reasons I decided to take film studies!
Why MHC?
It came down to MHC or University of Washington. It was a hard pick because I loved Seattle and I have a family member there, so that was a pro. But when I came here, the professors acknowledged my presence. I shadowed Gary Gillis and he gave me advice. I love the classroom setting at MHC. I want to go to Vet school and a lot of them are in rural areas. I come from a busy place, yet MHC has both. It isn’t too much in the city, but not too rural either. A lot of people say MHC is isolated, but we’re really not. It could be worse!
If you had any superpower what would it be?
I actually have thought about this for a while. I would love to have the ability to morph into any animal. It maximizes everything! Plus, I love animals, I would like to see the world in their perspective.
What drew you to your academic interest?
Growing up, I was passionate about music, animals, and movies. Those are the three subjects I love. What drew me to biology is actually kind of controversial right now. My mom used to take me to zoos and aquariums. Seaworld in San Diego has a show with killer whales and whenever I saw the trainer interacting with the whales, I thought that you can not get paid to be doing anything better. That interaction with something that is not human, but is alive and thinking, is amazing and special.
What is your dream job?
My dream job would be a veterinarian or an animal specialist. Someone who has those credentials, but is able to use social media, apps, and movies to integrate animal science into pop culture. This way, animal facts become general knowledge. In some different countries, people don’t have the same care or respect for animals like they do here in the U.S. People should have some understanding of what animals for through and their lives.
What is your favorite type of music and what song do you have on repeat right now?
Well it depends on my mood. But I like pop, soundtracks, and some country. The song that is on repeat is It’s Only by Odesza ft Zyra. I first heard the song at a film festival at Hampshire. It was playing at the end of a film that a guy made for this dog. It was playing at the end of a montage and led to the credits. You know how you can love a song, just by watching a movie? Yeah, that was it.
Since you have been at MHC, what is the most fascinating thing you have learned?
You can take two different subjects and mash them together and have them relate to each other. I come from a place where specialization was seen as something you can do when you don’t fit in. But, creating your own path is better than fitting in.
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