Think back to the beginning of your freshman year at UCLA. Remember all those questions you had? What are the best classes to take? What are the cool things to do on campus? Where can I find a counselor? Where are the best parties? Don’t you wish there was a single place where you could just find the answer to all of those questions! Well lucky for you (yes, you Class of 2017), there is! Tips to Save at UCLA has all the answers to your questions and more! As the creator of a blog that has helped hundreds of clueless undergraduate Bruins, Christine Kim makes the perfect candidate for Campus Celebrity! So I decided to catch up with her and ask her a few questions!
Name: Christine Kim
Year: 3rd year
Major: Psychobiology
Hometown: Fullerton, CA
HC: Congrats on being Campus Celeb! How do you feel?
First of all, I really want to thank you for featuring me as your Campus Celebrity! I am truly humbled and honored because I feel like I do not deserve it, but I’m glad that you guys do. Here are some facts about me that you guys may like to know!
HC: For those that don’t know, what exactly is Tips to Save at UCLA?
Tips to Save at UCLA is a resource for students, new or old, to refer to when they have questions and want answers. There are several hundred posts, all of them regarding facts, tips and answers about UCLA whether it is on how to save money, get involved with research, interview tips and so much more. As it says on the top of my page, this blog is not run by any official at UCLA but just by an ordinary student wanting to help other students as well.
HC: What made you decide to create your blog?
I decided to create my blog after my first year at UCLA when I realized that I have accumulated a TON of knowledge regarding this campus and college lifestyle. Many of my friends asked me for advice because I had a lot of answers thanks to the countless resources that UCLA has to provide. I just absorbed all of the information that was provided to me via programs, faculty members, professors and upperclassmen and was able to give it out to my friends. This is when I realized that this information would be very helpful to new incoming students at UCLA, which is how TTSAUCLA was started!
HC: How can UCLA students/our readers ask you questions/advice on the blog?
It’s really easy, just go to the website and click the “ask” button to ask a question. I am actually planning on starting my site with a different domain (other than Tumblr) so please watch out for that ;) I also really appreciate it when my viewers submit answers and advice of their own.
HC: I know Tips to Save at UCLA contains hundreds of tips and pieces of advice. Is it hard to keep up with all the submissions you get?
In the beginning, it was quite overwhelming. I was giving out my own tips daily as well as trying to keep up with dozens of questions per day (this was during the summer when the class of 2015 were coming in). However, I found that as the students came during the Fall and were getting used to campus life, the sandstorm died down and I was able to manage it much better. The sad thing is that when it came to my third year, I really neglected my blog because of my busy life as a Resident Assistant. I am an RA in Holly and have 90 residents of my own that I needed to help! And funnily enough, some of them are figuring out now that I was “that Tips to Save girl.” Now that I going to be a fourth year and have learned even more about UCLA, I am ready to help those who have been just admitted here, and those who attend and still have questions!
HC: Do you run the blog alone or do you have some help?
I utilized the help of a second year follower named Cameron Wu. Thank you so much for your help Cameron, you’ve been doing great! I am also going to be using the help of alumni and friend Alexander Siu to start transitioning the blog to another website and creating a more aesthetic layout. Thank you Alexander, I am so excited to collaborate with you!
HC: What’s your favorite part about running Tips to Save at UCLA?
My favorite part is being able to relate to the people who follow my blog. We are all ordinary UCLA students with similar stories, going through similar dilemmas. I love being able to show students that they are not alone and that we have all struggled through the quarter system, hard midterms and bad grades. I get a lot of people telling me that they are having a hard time at school and need advice, and it makes me feel like I am not alone as well. I love the fact that we are all part of a community and that we are all here for each other as UCLA Bruins. I want to extend the page so that there could be discussion forums where we can all encourage and help each other because I know others out there have amazing advice and stories they can share as well. What’s interesting as well is that high school students and students from other college campuses refer to my blog as well for advice and for an insight to life at UCLA. I think that’s amazing!
Another awesome part that I did not expect was being reached out to by so many different outlets! I have been featured in the Daily Bruin’s front page my second year which was a dream come true for me. I was also featured in Korea Daily’s paper, several different news websites, asked to be a writer for several tour guides of LA and other advice columns, asked to collaborate with start up companies and even organized meetups where I can meet my followers face-to-face. This whirlwind of events became overwhelming for me back then, but I really want to do as much as I can this time around with the new class of 2017 coming to UCLA. I am so excited and ready to give it my all!
HC: If you had to give just one piece of advice to our incoming new students, what would it be and why?
Take advantage of the fact that you are here; you are definitely here for a reason. I realize that sometimes students may feel like they do not belong here and even ask the question “did the UCLA admissions team choose the right person?” The answer is, YES! Take advantage of your campus! UCLA offers so many different opportunities for you to expand your interests, pursue your passions and meet amazing people. Step outside of your comfort zone, get to know others who are not like yourself, and most of all, have fun! Make wise choices and remember that you are not alone in this huge college campus. On the inside, we are all the same.
Okay, let’s talk about you now!
Favorites:
Thing about UCLA: The weather is so beautiful and the campus is lovely. Everytime I step onto campus, I am just so happy and grateful that I am here.
Class that you’ve taken: I loved my Civic Engagement class by Bruin Leader’s Project where I was able to choose seminars that I was interested in taking to further advance my skills as a leader. I highly encourage everyone to check it out!
Color: Coral
Music: Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 album is the bee’s knees
Movie: She’s the Man, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables
Book : Zombie books
UCLA memory: I make memories everyday that always become my favorites!
If you’d like to check out Christine’s blog, Tips to Save at UCLA, click the following link: http://tipstosaveatucla.tumblr.com/