Parker Garcia: Student Success Spotlight

[00:00:00] Speaker A: This was made by humans. [00:00:05] Speaker B: Welcome to Austin Community Conversations, a podcast featuring discussions about the interests, backgrounds, and projects animating the members of a vibrant college community. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker's own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Austin Community College. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The Austin Community College. Community College name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner, and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product or service. [00:01:10] Speaker A: Welcome to the conversation. I'm Tonio Ramirez. Each element of the complex organization comprising Austin Community College, from our IT technicians to our lab assistants, to our faculty custodial staff, to our senior administrators, plays a unique role in helping our students to realize their goals. But it is against that common endeavor, helping students to realize their goals, whatever they happen to be, that our collective success is ultimately measured. This episode marks the first installment of an ongoing series that we'll call the Student Success Spotlight, giving listeners an opportunity to meet real students living real lives in pursuit of real ambitions. My guest today is Parker Garcia, a recent ACC graduate who found his path to success through our college's honors program. As you'll hear, Parker didn't necessarily see himself as a quote unquote, honors student when he first enrolled, but the opportunities that he found as an honors student and later as president of the honors student organization led to remarkable success in his transfer goal. Let's dive in. Parker Garcia, welcome to the conversation. [00:02:18] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you for having me. [00:02:20] Speaker A: So you have just recently managed to do something kind of spectacular. And to bury the lead here a little bit, I want to offer my congratulations up front on your recent admission to Cornell University. How recently did you learn about this? [00:02:39] Speaker B: About two weeks ago. April 30th, to be exact. Two weeks. [00:02:42] Speaker A: Okay. So has it kind of, like, sunk in finally? [00:02:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I don't know how early it could be, right. Moving across the country, but looking at where I might be living and stuff, it started to feel a little bit more real, for sure. [00:02:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's a tremendous achievement, but I can certainly sympathize with the prospect of moving far away and all that, but it's hopefully going to be a pretty amazing adventure. We can get to how that happened for you, but I wonder, by way of introduction, if you might just talk about how you initially came to ACC in the first place, a little bit about your background. [00:03:19] Speaker B: Yeah, so I came to ACC maybe, like, a year after I moved to Austin, so I was a little, like, familiar with the area and stuff. Okay. I saw some billboards of ACCs for everybody. [00:03:31] Speaker A: All right. [00:03:32] Speaker B: I didn't really think about it too much until my fiance was the one that told me she had taken like some language ASL classes and she had like a wonderful experience with the college and so she knew I didn't have like good experience with my last college back in South Texas. And so she was like, you know, give it a try. I know you've been wanting to go back into school and like, you know, do something else for yourself. And so I was like, you know, I'll give it a try. If I don't like it, then, you know, like, just don't continue. Right. And so I enrolled and then I took a full of classes and I really liked the atmosphere. Like right off the bat I was able to get like a lot of help, like transitioning into acc, like from my last college, giving a lot of information and yeah, it just continued from there. [00:04:19] Speaker A: All right, so. So I gather this was not. This was not like enrolling in ACC directly out of high school. You were returning maybe a little bit of uncertainty. It sounds like that's not an uncommon experience for a lot of our students. So that that initial semester you said you started with a full time load right away. Was that kind of intimidating, like jumping right into the deep end? [00:04:41] Speaker B: Yeah, defin. Especially because I was taking a biology class and I was like horrible in biology all through high school. And so I made it a goal for myself, like I have to get all A's, like just so I know that I put in the work. And you know, even then if I got all A's and I still didn't like it, at least I knew it wasn't because, like I was failing at it. It was just because it wasn't for me. [00:05:04] Speaker A: Okay. [00:05:04] Speaker B: And so I wanted to give like a genuine shot at like education again. Okay. And you know, I rediscovered how to study and like how I was grasping material because I was like struggling with that, like prior before, like not really being able to grasp concepts. So it was a lot of experimenting, like with the way that I study, the way that I take notes. And once I got that way down of, you know, grabbing information, I just kept running with it and applied it to every single class that I did. [00:05:32] Speaker A: Okay. [00:05:33] Speaker B: And then with my GPA being so high, like I was able to, you know, get into the honors program. Yeah, I was able to challenge myself even more with like their way of teaching because I feel like the way that the honors program teaches is exactly what I was trying to get out of my transitional classes. And I was just doing it on my own at that point. And so being able to go into a classroom and it was already, you know, that was the way it worked already was a really good transition. [00:05:57] Speaker A: All right, so your experience prior to ACC was a bit different, it sounds like. [00:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a long story. Yeah. [00:06:08] Speaker A: I don't need all the gory details, but it sounds like maybe it wasn't as positive an experience. [00:06:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Though, you know, I'm. I'm a transgender student, and coming from where I come from, very South Texas, it's very, like, religiously, like, motivated. A lot of people have, like, those conservative, like, ideals and stuff, and they're just, you know, not up with the times, I guess. And so, like, something simply as, like, hey, I want to go by Parker. And not. This name was like, if you're asking for, like, miracles to happen in your. [00:06:34] Speaker A: In your actual academic environment. [00:06:36] Speaker B: Yeah, okay. Yeah. And then it would always come up with, like, follow up questions that would, like, make me uncomfortable. Like, you know, if I. If I was just wanting them to, you know, call me. Right pronouns, the right name, that was taken more of a focus than, like, what I was doing, like, actually in school. Yeah. And so it was constantly coming up as a conversation rather than it just being, like, who I. Who I was and just being accepted. And so it wasn't great. I always felt, like, really isolated. So with this, like, environment always having that encounters, I kind of just, like, showed myself off, kind of put myself in, like, a little, little hole and just, like, kind of kept to myself. And I felt like that didn't give me any room to grow, obviously. And so if I didn't have, like, the support, like, around me, then I. I didn't have any motivation to keep going forward. [00:07:25] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, that. That sense of belonging. This is all kind of research that suggests, like, you know, if you don't feel like you belong where you're at, it's really difficult to thrive. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Flourish. Right? [00:07:37] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you have the good fortune to see some billboards. Your fiance suggests, you know, give it a shot and you come. You have a good first semester, and those grades apparently give you the opportunity to move into the Honors program. But how did you, like, come to find out about the Honors Program in the first place? [00:07:57] Speaker B: I was lucky to get the email saying that I qualified for it, and it took me a couple of days to really, like, accept it because I had gotten, like, the National Honor Society email prior, before for asking for, like, $90. [00:08:10] Speaker A: And so I thought it was just [00:08:12] Speaker B: like, you know, reaching them, reaching out to me again. And so then I kind of ignored it for a bit. [00:08:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:08:17] Speaker B: And then I got the reminder, like, hey, do you want to respond to it? And then I had, like, finally opened it and, like, realized that it was like, the honors program, like, affiliated with acc. And so I went on the website, checked it out, and I saw that, like, you know, you could set up a meeting with, like, the honors advisor at the time. And I said, like, you know what? I'll give you a shot. It's free. It's not going to cost me any money. Right then I had that honors meeting before I even, like, really enrolled into classes. I was on my second semester at this point, and I was looking for classes for fall and the summer. [00:08:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:08:49] Speaker B: And so I was like, oh, this is perfect timing. Like, you know, registration is going to open up anyways. Like, let me go talk to a professional. Right. And yeah, that's when I met Jana, the back then, the honors advisor. And it was from then on, I always say that after meeting Jana, like, completely transformed my life. Because in that meeting she, you know, told me, like, yes, you can have good grades. You have a 4.0. That's wonderful. But you're going to want to challenge yourself a little bit. Make sure that you're able to look well rounded and look great, like on the resume, but also use these things that you're going to be putting on the resume to build yourself up as a character and as a person. [00:09:25] Speaker A: Okay. [00:09:26] Speaker B: And she had told me that, you know, like, the hso, the honor student organization, has some openings and you'll probably be. I mean, not probably. Right. She was like, I think you will be a really good fit. And I kind of, like, laughed, like, to myself, and I was just like, [00:09:39] Speaker A: no, before you've even taken any honors classes or anything. [00:09:42] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:09:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:42] Speaker B: Wow. [00:09:43] Speaker A: Okay. [00:09:43] Speaker B: And so, yeah, she had told me that would be great for it. And then I kept sitting on it and I don't know why. It just kept bothering me and bothering me. And I was like, you know what? I'll never know if I don't try. [00:09:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:53] Speaker B: And so, like, the night it was due, like, I submitted my, like, candidacy for. For vice president. And, you know, a couple weeks after that, I ended up winning. And then from then, like, the relationship with Jana just, like, kept building. [00:10:06] Speaker A: Wow. [00:10:07] Speaker B: And we just kept having more. Like, it would be talking about hso, but also talking about my classes. Like, you're going Back and forth. Yeah, but she was always like, that, number one support for me, whether it was, like, wanting to explore different leadership positions or, like, finding help with what classes to take. And she was really knowledgeable on that. [00:10:24] Speaker A: Okay, if you see me smiling, obviously on the audio, you can. It's just that, you know, there's certain features of this that are like, what we hope to happen along the line for our students, and I have to laugh. An email, of all things, is the thing that turns you on to meeting with Janet. Apparently that works sometimes, so that's great. Okay, so maybe if you might talk separately about your experience as an honor student and then as an HSO member, the courses themselves. So you said that something about the way these particular courses are taught and organized worked better for you. Like, in what way exactly? [00:11:05] Speaker B: I would say that a lot of. Well, at least in my experience, the classes I've taken, I know some of them are different, but for me, a lot of the classes I experienced, it was like, a lot of the work that you do, it's kind of like, to yourself a bit. So you take a lot of work home, you do a lot of the reading at home, you understand the material. And then I feel like to really lock down that knowledge is when we go back into the classroom and we're all having, like, the discussions about it, because, like, these classes are very, like, you know, discussion based, project based. And so being able to, like, really prepare what I want to talk to my classmates about or, like, what I want to present to my class, you really have to, like, you know, put in the work outside of the classroom. And I was doing that anyways, like, with my other classes. Yeah, because since my traditional classes was a lot of, like, lecture heavy, I couldn't learn, like, that. I have, like, severe ADHD and, like, wanting to jump off the walls if I'm sitting too long. And so being able to already do what I was doing, like, teaching myself the material at home, pretty much, and then coming and just making sure that I locked down what I taught myself and be able to apply it to, like, the discussions and stuff. [00:12:11] Speaker A: Did you find. So, you know, there are, of course, discussion emphasis courses that you'll find among our, you know, traditional offerings. But did you find that these honors courses that. That your fellow students were also, like, diving in in that same way? Like, they showed up ready to have, like, serious discussions about the stuff you were reading? [00:12:31] Speaker B: Yeah, and then that was kind of a little bit intimidating for me. At first. I felt like I was in a room with like people who were so much smarter than me. And I felt so out of place. But the imposter syndrome kind of kicked in a bit. But then I had to really like, switch my mindset of like, we're all here. Like, we all like, you know, made it here. We're all like, we all have a place here and I have every right to be in this room as well. And so I kind of took that and like, you know, I'd rather be the dumbest person in the room and learn from the ones around me. And I kind of just like kept reminding myself, like, you know, learn from the people who are around you, listen to like their thoughts and kind of contrasted with what you're thinking or comparative. Right. [00:13:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:13:13] Speaker B: And so that kind of helped me out a bit, like just switching that mindset. And then it does help, like hearing, you know, like these very smart people talk about what we're going through because then it helps me understand the material better. Like hearing all these different views, like, oh, yeah, that, that also could apply to this book that we're reading or. I didn't see it that way. And now I could see how like that, that point that that student made relates to a point that I'm making like later in in the story, whatever it be. [00:13:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I wonder. So you've identified imposter syndrome, which I guess is, you know, fairly well known phenomenon now. I certainly have some experience with this myself in my own academic career. Did you find that your own kind of perception of yourself as I'm going to use your words here, the dumbest student in the room. Did that change over time? Like, did you start recognizing that? Like, no, I am, I am a peer in this room. Yeah. [00:14:05] Speaker B: Oh, it took a while. It did. Like, like I said, like, I just, it took me a while to like get that mindset of like, I want to learn from these people anyway. But it was like a constant fight. And it was also having like, I took a, like the speech and like the literature and like an economics. So they're all different, like different areas of like study. [00:14:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:27] Speaker B: And so like, I feel like I have like the literature part down, like being to really analyze the book that we're reading. But then I'll move on to my economics class. I'm like, oh, I'm back to feeling like the dumbest person. [00:14:37] Speaker A: Well, yeah, we can't be master of everything. [00:14:39] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. So it really, it does take time in the beginning. [00:14:43] Speaker A: Right. [00:14:43] Speaker B: But like, if, like I want to be in the space. Right. So like I'm gonna try my hardest to be like, fighting the imposter syndrome because I want to be able to fully enjoy being in the, in the classroom and not just fighting myself the whole time, if that makes sense. [00:14:58] Speaker A: Yeah, no, it does. So at risk of, like, you know, really pushing against this, this humility that you're conveying here, you eventually end up taking on, like, a pretty prominent leadership and I imagine, mentorship role as the president of the hso. So maybe you could talk really quickly about what the HSO is and what that experience of simultaneously having imposter syndrome in the classroom but moving into, like, a really important leadership role was like for you. [00:15:35] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I always refer to my first year with HSO as my training wheels, like, time. Because going in like, as vp, I feel kind of guilty, like, not really knowing much about the hr, but once I really, like, fully stepped in as vp, I was like, wow, this is, this is amazing. Right. [00:15:53] Speaker A: But basically, for what it's worth, my first year as a dean was a lot like that too. [00:15:58] Speaker B: Yeah. But the HSO is honor student organization. And like, our mission is to bring honor students together and create, like a community amongst honor students. And so rather than just focusing on, like, the academics stuff, like, we have a lot of, like, success symposium, like how to be the leadership, like Leadership 101, or like, tackling burnouts. We have some of those, like, serious symposiums that gives information to like, the honor students or students of, like, higher achieving. Like, you don't have to be an honor student to be in the hso, but it's really just to create a space where, you know, honor students and people like minded could be together. Because, I mean, the way that I see it is that if you surround yourself with people who, who want to achieve more and are pushing to achieve more, then you yourself, like, you will eventually achieve more, if that makes sense. So, like, you're a product of your own environment is what I'm trying to say. And so we try to like, you know, have events that foster that idea, but we also have like, you know, fun events like our taco bowl. It's like our yearly trivia night. And we all eat like, bowls of tacos, right? And then we'll have our, like, holiday party, our Halloween party and things like that. And going through the HSO and being able to see that community of honor students had really helped me really, like, fully immerse myself with the ACC community. Because you just meet so many people. You. You meet people who also want to be involved and you start Collaborating. And then it turns on, like, an academic program that will boost your resume to, like, being able to find a space and, like, not. Not being stuck in a cycle of, like, class, then, like, going straight home to study. Like, after I stepped into, like, leadership roles, I was struggling to find time to myself because I had friends on campus, and we would meet up and we'd be talking. And so, like, that was a hard transition, but it was a good problem to have. [00:17:54] Speaker A: Yeah, that probably is. Yeah. You know, there's many wisdom traditions that would affirm this idea about surrounding yourself with people who elevate you, but the idea there is, yes, we are a product of our environment, but you can also shape that environment. You can select that environment. So it sounds like not only did you opt to give the Honors program a shot, but you decided to be very active in that approach, not just, like, passively taking the classes and waiting to see what happens. Now, the Honors program, I know is connected to or can give rise to a number of really kind of interesting opportunities for students. These include things like the LBJ Public Service Program and the Chautauqua Summer Scholars. If I recall correctly, you have been involved with some of these. Yeah. [00:18:51] Speaker B: Yes. Unfortunately, I did not do the service weekend because I was at Chautauqua during the time. Okay, well, and then I got selected for the service weekend again this year, and again, I'm going to Chautauqua during the same week. So that's one opportunity. And when I do classroom presentations, I always tell people, like, that's one opportunity I never got to do that I wanted to do, but it just didn't happen. [00:19:13] Speaker A: Yeah, there's only so much time. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:19:15] Speaker A: So Chautauqua, What's. What's that program about? [00:19:17] Speaker B: So that one is pretty much, like, building your social capital that brings students from all different types of backgrounds and across the country as well. And you're pretty much living with, like, 12 strangers in a single house, sharing a bathroom, sharing a kitchen. Like a reality show almost. Yeah. But you quickly become family. I, like, just had a zoom call with my cohort last night, and we were all, like, so happy to see each other, and we all stay connected. But throughout my time there, it was a lot of lectures, and so this organization really focuses on, like, your interests and things like that. So I told them, you know, I'm a government major. I'm really into politics, things like that. And they decided to put me in week four, which was the week that the Brookings Institute and the AEI Institute came together. And they sent a representative of every single day to have a discussion about things going on currently in the world. And so I would attend the lecture in the morning and in the afternoon, and then the rest of the day was kind of like free for all. We, we had like a huge paper, like the size of me and I'm not that tall, but like, you know, it's pretty big. [00:20:20] Speaker A: Right. [00:20:21] Speaker B: And we kind of just highlighted the things that we wanted to go and do. And a lot of it was, a lot of what I did was a lot of like porch talks. And so I'll go to the Quaker house and we'll have of conversations there and the different dominations of religion and go and just have conversations. And there wasn't conversations like, oh, trying to get you to turn into like our religion or like things like that. It was just mainly having conversations about what they've been through, sharing, relating amongst different cultures. And so it was a really enriching experience. I say that that whole week was just like feeding my brain. I felt like I came back with a couple IQ points like above, but it was, it was really fantastic. And then I'm going back this, this summer more as like a leadership position. I'll be facilitating some co generational conversations and helping the new summer scholars that got selected this year, you know, bridge that gap with the different generations and help them foster those community. Like those conversations. [00:21:26] Speaker A: Yeah, it sounds like a really amazing experience. And so did that kind of stem from your work with HSO and honors, or was that a completely independent thing that you had applied for? [00:21:37] Speaker B: I definitely did use my experience with the HSO and like the honors program in my application. [00:21:43] Speaker A: Okay. [00:21:44] Speaker B: And then for this time around, during the application process, I really talked about my growth as a leader through the honors program, like going from VP to president, getting better at organizing, since this is a leadership role. And I'm having to organize conversations and events over there at Chautauqua. Yeah, I was able to speak about my experience on there and I feel like that's what really caught their attention. That like, I think I kind of know what I'm doing when it comes to event organizing. [00:22:12] Speaker A: Yeah, it sounds like it at this point. Point had a bit of experience. So. Okay, this, this all kind of is a, what, two, three year trajectory since you first started at acc. Okay. And. And it culminates in this, this successful application to Cornell University. If I gather there's some. There's some significant financial aid that come along with it as well. [00:22:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:22:33] Speaker A: All right. [00:22:34] Speaker B: Full ride for housing and Everything Okay. [00:22:38] Speaker A: All right, so. So, like, the dream manifests here. [00:22:40] Speaker B: This is wonderful. [00:22:42] Speaker A: So you think about, like, where you started, you know, uncertain about whether you even wanted to enroll. And in that. That relatively short period of time, now having this spectacular opportunity, how would you describe, like, the most significant changes in terms of. Of either your abilities or your confidence or your sense of yourself? And what would you say is the thing that stands out to you the most is kind of having developed or changed over this time? [00:23:20] Speaker B: I feel like I've definitely gained some more confidence in myself. I mean, of course, we all have those days that we don't feel the best, right? And I may feel those a little bit more often than not. But being. Being, like, an honors ambassador and going to classrooms full of students, it'll be like, at most, like, 30 students that I'm talking to, and it's four of those a day during the busy semesters. And I was the type of student that, like, my voice would shake in front of the crowds. My first event as VP for the Honors through Organization was doing our welcome reception. And I want to say about, like, 100 people showed up. And I went in thinking that it was, like, about, like, 20 students that were going to be there. Now walk into the presentation hall. It was, like, completely packed, filled. And I just. I just remember shaking my boots. Like, I felt like I couldn't, like, get a single word out. And so my point for that was that, like, any type of public speaking, I would just have an anxiety attack, a panic attack, and I would beat myself over. Beat myself up over it for. For. For days or even weeks. Like, you know, when you're just, like, sitting, driving your car and you remember that one embarrassing moment, that was me for, like, weeks on straight. And it finally took me just, you know, telling myself again, like, you got this. Like, you need to be able to, you know, do this, right? And then I, you know, continued with my ambassadorship with Honors program, doing those classroom presentations, and it was a lot of, like, trial and error. Like, I would, you know, rehearse what I was going to say into a mirror for, like, 10 minutes straight. I'll rehearse my car, have a full transcript ready. And those things never worked. Like, and so at some point, I was like, you know what? I just need to do it straight off the dome and be able to talk. Like, if it's like, nobody else, you [00:25:08] Speaker A: know, just stand and deliver, right? Yeah. [00:25:10] Speaker B: Yeah. And so having that mindset, like, switch really helped me. And then once I got, like, my first presentation Presentation down. When I had no notes that, you know, I was speaking from the heart, I felt so good about myself. And I'm like, okay, I want to see if I could do that again. And then I was able to. And then being able just to talk in front of a classroom, even if they're not listening or caring about what you have to say, being able to get that confidence a couple of times in the room, I feel like it extends to your personal life. And, you know, me as a student, and so, like, being able to, you know, present, like, in classes about, like, projects that I'm doing with, like, ease and calmness. It was, like, a really great, like, growth. And I feel like that was the number one thing that I wanted out of, like, all the leadership roles that I got, and I was able to get it for sure. [00:26:00] Speaker A: Yeah. I really appreciate you. You sharing that experience, because I think it can be tempting if I'm, you know, brand new, if I'm on the incoming end. Right. [00:26:09] Speaker B: You. [00:26:10] Speaker A: At the very beginning of this experience, and I see the president of the HSO addressing the. The room, it can be really easy for me to just assume, like, oh, look at this guy. Like, he's born this way. You know, like, I just kind of knew it and. But, like, no, that's not how it [00:26:23] Speaker B: went down at all for you. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I envy the people who. Who could do so. I have some officers that they could just run the show, and they have no social anxiety, and I admire their talent. But I'm also glad that I was able to work my way towards being a little bit more comfortable. [00:26:43] Speaker A: So this combination of putting in the work sounds like giving yourself a shot. The support that it sounds like you have around you. So it comes together. So you have this tremendous success. And I gather that your successful application to Cornell is not the only success story that the Honors Program has to crow about this year. We've got admissions. I'm just looking here at the list at Rice and Brown and Vanderbilt, Michigan, CU Boulder. This is a program that I think has a lot to offer to our students. As you prepare to move on to the next phase, I wonder if you have any hopes for what the future of the Honors Program could be. What changes or continued growth might you Hope to see ACC's Honors Program have? [00:27:36] Speaker B: I would like to see, you know, students being aware with the program, like, straight out the bat, like, as soon as they enroll into acc, get an email saying, like, hey, we have this too, because I would have joined, like, so much sooner. I would have been ready to join right after my first semester, but didn't like fully join until I didn't take my first class until the summer after I got my acceptance. And I could have taken a lot of my classes as honors. I envied the people who could take eight classes because they knew about it right away and I was only able to take three. So more visibility for the honors program, for sure. I would also like to see a little bit more like hand in hand events with the HSO endowments program. The HSO only gets so much money for like our budget and it goes by pretty fast. [00:28:33] Speaker A: Yeah, sure. [00:28:34] Speaker B: And you know, working also with the honors program, I know how fast our budget also drains. And so if there was, you know, more money. Right. I feel like a lot things could happen for sure. Especially you know, when it comes to like ambassadors and HSO officers working together. I feel like that will be a, a great team especially to get like the word out for honors because we try our best. Like we had the let's talk honors and we invited a bunch of professors. That event alone took the majority of our budget. Yeah, I want to say about like 80% of our budget. And so we're not able to do those events constantly, but that's what students wants to see. I had, did a feedback form for that, that membership meeting. And a lot of the students just want, want to hear from the professors. They want to hear more about the honors program and what exactly what they had to give. But we can only do so much with what we got. [00:29:28] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, sure. So I think, you know, the outcome makes total sense, you know, a greater sense of awareness which could parlay into more people getting involved. But I suspect that if your interests continue on the trajectory of government, this idea of like, more budget is going to be something that's going to occur more than once in your, in your future days. So. So on that note, so you've, you've been a government major here. Is that what you kind of plan to continue studying once you're at Cornell? [00:29:55] Speaker B: So with Cornell, I really love that I got accepted to this major because I could really do so much with it. I had a meeting with an associate admissions director and he pretty much told me that I could take courses from any college in Cornell. And so that could be from like the law school, the public policy school, and kind of really explore the interdisciplinary like studies that Cornell offers. And so for me, I do want to eventually go into law school. And so I'm kind of going to take that pre law route, But I also really want to, like, dive into, like, educational policy and. And the law, and there's a lot of classes that, you know, explore that exact theme. And so I got my paralegal associates this last spring. [00:30:42] Speaker A: Congratulations. [00:30:43] Speaker B: Last week. Right. And they really laid the foundations of all the legal concepts and gave me a lot of the vocabulary. That vocabulary I'll need to know for, like, that. Oh. And things like that and being able to have that foundation. I think I'll be able to do really well in, like, some of the law classes at Cornell. [00:30:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:00] Speaker B: And so I'm excited to really. To scratch my brain there. [00:31:03] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. No, it's going to be a bigger pool, but one with a lot of fun stuff to play around with. Yeah, it's really exciting. Well, I hope that you will stay in touch with the hso. I know that they build pretty strong relationships with their students and. And former students, so I'm sure that our honors coordinator, Anne Marie Thomas, will keep in touch and offer updates on how things go. But it sounds like the future's looking up. [00:31:28] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you. [00:31:28] Speaker A: Congratulations, and thank you very much for the time you spent talking about your experience here as an ACC student. [00:31:35] Speaker B: Yeah, of course. I love acc. I always. You know, I sent my, like, farewell email, I guess, like, to the HSO last night, and I'm like, I'm ready to be, like, a mentor or peer. Anything that, like, these students need. Like, I'm ready to share my knowledge that whatever I got or my experience, if it can help somebody else, I'll be willing to help them, so. [00:31:57] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, that's a tremendous gift that you can give back to the community. Well, thanks, Parker. I appreciate the time. [00:32:02] Speaker B: I appreciate you. All right. Satisfaction.