Life at UC Santa Barbara – from a Dublin Gael to a Seaside Gaucho
by Katie Somerville (Dublin High School Class of 2012 and UC Santa Barbara Class of 2016)
Katie Somerville
It is surreal to think, as I sit here writing from my ocean front house listening to the sound of the waves crashing, that I only have two quarters left at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Rewind three and half years to freshman move in day: getting dropped off at my dorm and watching my mom drive away without me was a weird, terrifying, and exciting experience. I was forced to share a room with a stranger, surrounded by thousands of people I had never met and was now solely responsible for myself for the first time in my life!
My house, five minutes from campus
Thankfully, this daunting feeling lasted about five minutes before I was swept away with the exhilaration of becoming a college student. Santa Barbara is not the hardest place to call home. With 283 days of sunshine a year, spectacular ocean views, and unbeatable good vibes, you could say that going to UCSB is very close to living in paradise.
The fears I had that first day were definitely not realized. That randomly assigned stranger turned out to be my roommate for the next four years (I guess the compatibility survey worked pretty well). I chose to be on the outdoor adventure floor so, for the most part, everyone was very active and you could always find someone to go with on a hike, to the beach, or get a game of volleyball going on the sand courts. My floor became the source of some of my best friends at UCSB. With the dining commons an elevator ride away, I never had to worry about a meal (freshman, you may complain now, but I promise you’ll miss it when you have to go grocery shopping, cook every meal, and do dishes!).
Dublin High School Hosts VEX Robotics “Gael Force Battle of the Bay”
After six years of competing in VEX competitions throughout the country, the Dublin High School Gael Force Robotics Club hosted their first competition this past Saturday–Gael Force Battle of the Bay.
Starting at 7am., twenty-eight teams from almost fifteen Bay area schools crowded into the old gym to set up their robots and work out any last minute glitches in the practice arena. Although there was only one practice area for all the teams to share, the atmosphere was friendly and everyone seemed excited, but nervous, for the day-long competition to start.
Similar to organizations such as Destination Imagination and Odyssey, the FIRST and VEX create a challenge for robotics teams all over the world. This year’s was to create a robot that can play a game called “Nothing But Net”, or a type of robotic game of basketball. To play the game students form an “alliance” with a randomly-paired team from a different school. Two alliances, or four teams, compete at once. The alliances change from round to round, however they are always called the “red alliance” and the “blue alliance”.
Dublin High School is home to two STEM events this weekend – a VEX Robotics Competition (which we’ll be writing about separately) and an app hackathon for the second annual Congressional App Challenge. Participating students have an opportunity to participate in coding workshops and work in teams to develop an app. The hackathon is being held in coordination with knodemy, a mentor-based coding academy located in Livermore. The winning CA-15 app will be selected at the conclusion of the hackathon (later today) by a panel of judges and displayed in the United States Capitol and on the House of Representatives website.
We caught up with Congressman Eric Swalwell, who is hosting the event:
OneDublin.org: Tell me a bit about this event and what you’re trying to accomplish.
Congressman Eric Swalwell
Congressman Eric Swalwell: “We’re here for the second annual Congressional App Challenge, which is in the spirit of the Congressional Art Competition which we also hold every year. This event reflects the changing innovation economy which is going to need bright, young, talented minds, and Congress has a role to play. We’ve invited everyone in the District to come out and work in a collaborative environment over 48 hours, with experts in technology, and hopefully walk away with something that makes life easier, healthier or a little more fun.”
Caitlin Benoit
The next entry in our popular Life in College Series features Dublin High School Class of 2014 alum and California State University, Chico sophomore Caitlin Benoit. Caitlin makes a valuable point about keeping an open mind when making college selection choices, and focusing on making the most of the opportunity going to college provides.
OneDublin.org: For students considering Chico State describe how you viewed Chico during your college selection process, and what you’ve learned about Chico since.
Caitlin Benoit: “Before I knew anything about Chico State I didn’t want to go, I was closed-minded and only thought of Chico based on its reputation as being a party school. I worked so hard in high school and I didn’t want to be perceived as ‘not smart’. It took me going to Chico to realize the school’s reputation is not fair.
“There are so many students at Chico who work hard; I’ve learned it matters less where you go to college, and more what you do when you get there.
“I’m so glad I chose Chico. I’ve found that Chico teaches beyond the textbooks. I’ve also met such a diverse group of people, from Danville to Compton, and have learned so much from each person I’ve met. The students at Chico have opened my eyes, coming from the bubble of Dublin.”
Michelle’s first day at LinkedIn
Three years ago Dublin High School Class of 2011 Valedictorian Michelle Lee wrote about her first year at Harvard University. Fast forward to today and Michelle has completed her undergraduate degree and has started her post-college career at LinkedIn in Silicon Valley (finding that there are great opportunities for non-engineers in the process). OneDublin recently caught up with Michelle in our latest Life After College series of articles.
OneDublin.org: Of the many courses you took while at Harvard, were there one or two courses (or professors) that really stood out?
Michelle Lee: “One class that really stood out was a course entitled Race and Technology, which focused on what role race has within the digital space. The class gave me a better sense of how these seemingly disparate fields intersect and left me with a desire to do my part in combatting digital racism. In today’s society, we often over-idealize technology and the digital space, imagining a progressive world online free of prejudice and racism. During this course, we had meaningful discussions about online racial communities, digital labor, and programs that aim to close the digital divide. The professor also incorporated non-traditional assignments, including blog posts and multimedia projects such as podcasts to enhance our experience.
“Another memorable class my senior spring was taught at the Harvard Business School, entitled Power and Glory in Turbulent Times: The History of Leadership from Henry V to Steve Jobs. Each week, we covered two leaders from history and focused on their values, strategies, and impact. We discussed how and why they became powerful, innovative figures in their respective companies, communities, and nations. It was an incredibly inspiring course filled with entertaining case studies and historical material. HBS utilizes the case study method, and so I walked away from every class with new insights and perspectives from my classmates.”
OneDublin.org 2015 Year in Review
Thanks to you, OneDublin.org ends 2015 with a 30% increase in page views and a 15% increase in readers. The most popular articles published this year, based on page views:
- Dublin Students Struggle with Too Much Homework and Too Little Sleep
- Dublin High School Alum Emily Edlund: From the University of Arizona to a Los Angeles Law Firm
- Dublin High School Planning to Extend School Day by 32 Minutes, Make 7th Period Mandatory
- Dublin High School Named Top Tri-Valley High School by Newsweek (America’s Top High Schools 2015)
- Dublin High School Class of 2015 College Acceptance Results
The most popular article overall, for the second year running, was our 2012 interview with Stanford Prof. Carol Dweck: Stanford University’s Carol Dweck on the Growth Mindset and Education.
Here’s an excerpt from the full breakdown for the year:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. OneDublin.org was viewed about 260,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 11 days for that many people to see it.
Getting Students Excited About STEM: Three Key Lessons
Almost everything we see, touch, use and enjoy is in some way built on code. It is frustrating, however, that diversity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) is hampered by stereotypes omnipresent in our contemporary entertainment, media and culture.
According to recent a Google / Gallup report, “Underscoring the increasing demand for people with computer science skills in the labor market, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that jobs in computer and mathematical occupations will increase by 18% in the 10 years leading up to 2022, creating more than 1.3 million job openings by 2022.”
How can you help encourage your children, students and their friends to consider STEM education and careers? Having spoken to thousands of students over the years I’ve focused on sharing three key messages in my presentations. I’ve found that these messages resonate with students, and I hope they will resonate with you.
Lesson #1: Hard Problems are Cool!
Dublin Teachers Reach Agreement with DUSD on New School Calendar
Dublin High School students who are studying in-between holiday festivities, in preparation for first semester finals in January, can say goodbye to textbooks over the winter break starting next year. The Dublin Teachers Association (DTA) and Dublin Unified School District (DUSD) announced that an Agreement had been finalized which includes moving the school year earlier for 2016-17 (read more…).
For some parents this will also mean adjusting vacation and other plans in August 2016.
DUSD Public Information and Community Relations Officer Michelle McDonald, “The school district has reached a tentative agreement with the Dublin Teachers Association on a contract to run through the 2017-18 school year. The tentative agreement was ratified earlier this week by DTA, and is now pending approval by the Board of Trustees, scheduled to happen in January. One key element of the agreement is a change in the school year calendar. Dublin families should plan to start the school year on August 15, 2016 and end on June 2, 2017.” (read more…)
Hour of Code Challenge Inspires Green Elementary School “Science Safari”
The week of December 7 – 13 was recently recognized as a moment to feature an Hour of Code. The week was a global celebration that incorporated a focus on computer science, logic and creativity for youth around the globe. Not surprisingly, the Dublin Unified School District took advantage of this opportunity and courtesy of an invitation we put a spotlight on some of the activities that occurred at John Green Elementary School.
The PFC leadership at Green elected to further enhance this week by also offering a “Science Safari” event for the entire student population, hosted last Wednesday evening in the Green Multi-Purpose Room. The Hour of Code week was driven by Mr. Garrett Fogel (certificated staff) and Principal Joe Romagna. But the added program succeeded with the spirit of cooperation through the PFC and specifically Director of Programs, Carolyn Caballero.
As is the case with every growing Dublin elementary school site, nights like these need to be setup out to ensure total student flow and participation. On Wednesday, students with a last name starting with the letters A-M were invited to enter from 6:00 – 7:00 PM and those with names with last names that began with N or later could participate starting at 7:00 PM.
Needless to say, an enthusiastic group of students and parents were present to enjoy hands-on science stations. Some of the activities involved experience with electricity, fossil excavation and a full bubble tube, among other activities. We reached out to PFC Board member, Carolyn Caballero to understand the formation and essence of the Science Safari Night at Green.
Dublin High School to Exceed Design Capacity by Next Year – Community Forum Announced
Due to rapid student growth across all levels of the Dublin education system, Dublin High School is now forecasted to exceed the design capacity of 2,500 students by next year. According to “moderate” projections prepared by demographers DecisionInsite, there will be over 4,800 high school students in Dublin by 2025 (more than double the current enrolment at Dublin High). The latest projections were shared during a Facilities Master Plan Committee meeting held earlier this month.
In response to the rapid growth at Dublin High School, which significantly exceeds earlier projections, the Dublin Unified School District has announced the second in a series of community forums focused on the DUSD Facilities Master Plan. The community forum will be held on Monday January 11, 2016, in the Dublin High School Student Union, from 6:30pm – 9:30pm.
Parents are advised to register for the event here (not required but recommended due to the expected large turnout).
OneDublin.org 