My name is Katie Simmons, and I'm a Scorpio. My interests include long walks on the beach, candle-lit dinners under the stars, and challenging the patriarchy. 

 

 

 

 

I'm a fourth year Education Sciences major with a specliaization

in English Language Learning, and I hope dearly to use my education

to travel as much as I can and to teach people to the best of my ability. 

The past couple of years have seen a great deal of change for me

as I transitioned out of the community college system and into a

UC, but I remain hopeful that the change I've experienced is for the

best. I'm eager to see what comes next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aside from becoming somewhat more fashionable since I began attending UCI, I've also become far more involved with my community. My two years at Norco College prior to transferring to UCI were strangely solitary, so I was delighted to find so many wonderful student organizations available at Irvine. Chief among them is my current pride and joy, a mentorship organization called Women & Youth Supporting Each Other. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I came across WYSE at the beginning of my third year, and my decision to join was possibly the defining decision of my college career. I found in WYSE a community of women who are passionate about providing young girls with the best possible resources and motivation to succeed in life, and though UCI's own chapter of WYSE is relatively small, it has had a huge impact on my own life. My experience as a mentor rekindled my passion for teaching and was what ultimately inspired me to change my major from history to education. Now that I am on the board of directors for UCI's chapter, I feel more inspired than ever to pursue a better future for our youth-- especially young girls and women.

 

My passion for women's issues was also realized through my involvement with the Vagina Monologues last year. It was a bit of an odd experience, standing in front of hundreds of strangers and reciting a rather amusing monologue about how a bland man named Bob helped me learn to love and accept my own vagina, but at least it got me mentioned by name in the school paper. That was pretty neat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than the laughs and long-awaited press recongition, though, the Monologues really created for me a place where women's issues were placed front-and-center in a way that couldn't be ignored. The sheer positivity of that community and the unwavering support from all of those involved with the Monologues sort of made me feel invincible. It took away the vulnerability of being a woman in US society and replaced it with confidence and empowerment. Perhaps the best thing of all was hearing from people who went to see the show the sort of impact it had on their own lives and perspectives. There's something undeniably special about being part of something that can so visibly impact people in such a positive manner. 

 

I could talk forever about what drives me and my aspirations for the future, but I'd prefer to let the things I do and the causes I support speak for me instead. I have grown into myself as a person in the short time I've been attending UCI, and whether it's the setting or the people therein who have shaped me to be who I am now, I look forward to seeing who I'll be when I graduate and step forward into the world.