Alex Chin (he/him)
Interests
Climbing/Bouldering, Music, diving into Wikipedia rabbit holes
Major
Environmental Studies with a GIS Emphasis
Hometown
Seattle, WA
Why I chose Western
Admittedly, Western was originally my safety school. I had planned on leaving Washington for college and WWU was pretty far down on the list of schools that I was seriously considering. However, I guess life had other plans for me – and I can honestly say that I'm glad that it did.
Throughout high school I was really interested in geography as well as environmental issues, and after finding out about the Environmental Studies program – which not only combines both subjects, but also teaches me how knowledge and teachings from one can be applied to help solve issues within the other – I had pretty much made up my mind on attending Western.
Additionally, as an extra bonus: I really appreciated the amount of attention and resources that Western put towards recruiting and creating a home for students of color on campus. WWU is a majority white school located in a majority white town, so the issue of diversity was definitely a concern in the back of my mind when choosing schools. However, the efforts of admission staff to showcase how accepting WWU is, as well as the myriad of resources available – such as the Ethnic Student Center (and all of the clubs run through it) – helped to mitigate these concerns.
Throughout high school I was really interested in geography as well as environmental issues, and after finding out about the Environmental Studies program – which not only combines both subjects, but also teaches me how knowledge and teachings from one can be applied to help solve issues within the other – I had pretty much made up my mind on attending Western.
Additionally, as an extra bonus: I really appreciated the amount of attention and resources that Western put towards recruiting and creating a home for students of color on campus. WWU is a majority white school located in a majority white town, so the issue of diversity was definitely a concern in the back of my mind when choosing schools. However, the efforts of admission staff to showcase how accepting WWU is, as well as the myriad of resources available – such as the Ethnic Student Center (and all of the clubs run through it) – helped to mitigate these concerns.
What I ultimately hope my education helps me achieve
Through Western's Environmental Studies program I am hoping to develop the connections and skills required to both achieve my personal career goals, as well as to help me leave a positive impact on the world.
My advice for incoming or prospective students
I know that this is a pretty common piece of advice – and one that prospective college students have likely heard time and time again – but building out your social circle and making friends, especially after you first arrive at college, in my opinion is genuinely one of the most useful pieces of advice that I received prior to coming to college, and it's something that I want to pass on to new incoming students.
College is an amazing place to further develop your already existing hobbies and interests, as well as being an incredible environment to help you find and explore new ones. At Western I've found an incredibly welcoming and accepting community that has helped me to both grow as a person as well as to explore different interests and hobbies that I likely would not have otherwise looked into.
College is an amazing place to further develop your already existing hobbies and interests, as well as being an incredible environment to help you find and explore new ones. At Western I've found an incredibly welcoming and accepting community that has helped me to both grow as a person as well as to explore different interests and hobbies that I likely would not have otherwise looked into.