Spotlight: Mya Oliver-Jackson
Get to know Mya!
She is a third-year at UC San Diego majoring in Economics and minoring in Communications.
Q: Where are you from, and where were you born?
A: I am originally from the Bay Area, and I was born in Hayward, but for the majority of my life I lived in Oakland. My mother was born in Oakland, but she lived in Fiji as a child. My grandmother (mom’s mom) is Indian and my grandfather is indigenous (Fiji). My Dad is from Monterrey and was an Army baby. My grandmother (dad’s mom) moved from England, and my grandfather moved from Alabama.
Q: What was your childhood like?
A: I have a pretty big family who is always around. I have four younger siblings, and I live with 3 of them, and I watch my younger cousins a lot as well. My family is super loving, but their love language is more like acts of service or giving gifts, not as much saying “I love you.” I was the only girl in the family for a long time, (my sister is 12 years younger) and I have a lot of boy cousins. I grew up playing with cars, but when I became a tween I got more into makeup. I was always involved as a kid: going to space camp, did martial arts. My family was super strict on school, for example, they made me do times tables on weekends instead of going to the pool, which ingrained in me the importance of school. My family always had big parties, so I love big parties!
Q: What was your high school experience like?
A: I went to a public charter school, which was a continuation of my middle school, so I knew the same people. The school was really strict. For example, they had a uniform, we only could wear black shoes, and they were strict on what colors we could wear because of the area/neighborhood the school was in. Regardless, my school was one of the best and highest performing schools in the area. They offered SAT prep and made us finish our homework at lunch. Because of my school setting and family, I felt motivated to succeed, and I still have that drive now. I love being involved and staying busy. In high school, I did soccer, ASB, mentorship programs, and started getting involved politically and even organized a couple of walk-outs. All of these experiences shaped me, as I am able to see now.
Q: What college are you in at UCSD, and what is your major?
A: I am a Muir student, and I came in undeclared. I switched majors to Econ because there was no business program. I got an internship at a corporate business place, and I wanted to get into the talking part of business, which inspired me to declare a Comm minor to show I am well rounded.
Q: What are you involved in outside of school?
A: I am involved in the first-year program for OASIS (summer bridge) as an RA/mentor over the summer. I was in the program myself when I came to UCSD, and I met many of my friends through this program. I wanted to ensure that future students have a similar good experience as I did. I also have a Business associate/sales internship, and I like having more hands-on experiences. I like doing a series of internships and had also interned with a city council member and gained lobbying experience, which is good for marketing.
At UCSD, I joined women in business, which is an organization with workshops, bonding, resume building, and is a good system for mental and resource nourishing).
Q: What made you want to join Her Campus?
A: I wanted to find a way to put myself out there and do so in a productive way: by learning more about things I would be interested in later. I like writing creatively and academically, so Her Campus would be a unique experience to work with people with similar interests and goals in addition to creating a strong network of people.
Q: What are some current projects of yours?
A: One project I have in learning more about Her Campus and getting involved with that. I have a few ideas for articles already, so I am looking into researching the topics for those. Another project involved makeup! I wanted to start an online beauty supply store that is more diverse in products for people of all backgrounds. I already have the website set up! Lastly, I have an internship where I am currently researching how to market to East Asia deals because I am interested in international business.
Q: Are there any articles you are looking forward to writing? A: I wanted to do a range of things such as, favorite drugstore makeup products, how to do a full face of makeup for people who don’t like wearing makeup, feminism, and how it’s centered toward white women and not women of color, and sneaker culture!
Q: What’s one thing you want to accomplish by 65?
A: I want to be very healthy by that age (for example, not prolonging getting checkups, and just living a healthy lifestyle for myself and modeling for the people around me).
Q: If you could be in any movie, what movie would it be?
A: I would be in Mama Mia, but not as the main character, just one of the people just dancing and having a good time!