An important part of this seminar is using the classroom as a way to learn from each other and about one another.For this week’s reflection, we’ll start by writing 1-2 paragraphs about ourselves. What would you like your classmates to know about you?
Please respond to this post by clicking on “Leave a Reply.”
- What’s your preferred name?
- What are your preferred gender pronouns?
- Where is home? How can we improve our community at UCR?
- How do you feel about your education experience at UCR?
- Do you think a community garden can benefit this campus? Why did you want to be part of the garden?
- Do you have any hobbies, skills, and/or interests you would like to learn more of or share with others?
Cultivate R'Space 
Hello my name is Connie Guzman but simply Connie is acceptable. I am a fourth year History and Women’s Studies major. I prefer female pronouns. I have two homes, the first is Glendale, CA where I have spent most of my life and Riverside, CA where I have spent most of my four years. I believe that a good way of improving our community at UCR is by supporting the city as in the small businesses and shops as well as explore Riverside, because Riverside isn’t all that bad that people stereotype it to be. This last four years have been quite the eye-opener and because of the amazing classes that have shaped my identity. The community garden will greatly benefit UCR with not only giving the students better methods in discovering healthy foods in the mist of the fast food overload in the HUB but also a sense of community and togetherness which the school is lacking.
I want to be part of the garden to not only educate myself in gardening and food justice but also creating new bonds with people and I think a garden would fit that. I would love to learn more about gardening especially since I would love to share these skills with my mother who loves gardening flowers in our house.
My preferred name is Neha (Neh like a horse and ha like hahaha) and my preferred gender pronouns are female. Home is in the bay area but down here while I’m at school. The community at UCR is pretty great but I feel like it is a bit isolated from the Riverside community so it’d be great to bridge that gap. I’ve had a great education experience here though I feel like it is hard to get class that you may be interested in (especially those that do not pertain to your major) and still graduate on time so I feel like my experience hasn’t really fostered a lot of my interests in other categories, not just my major. I think a community garden would be great not only for the campus but the community as well. I personally am excited to learn out to grow my own food sustainable and organically as well as learn about food justice. I really want to learn how to play the harmonica.
Hello. First, I prefer to be called Naz as it is a nickname that is much shorter than my full name. I come from Fresno, where there is much crops that are grown there and from what I see there, this provides a major opportunity and enhancement for a community which grows its own crops, rather than rely on outside markets for necessary nourishment. As many studies prove that having more plants and agriculture in an area, provides for cleaner air, and for greater chances of precipitation for that area. I wish to learn more about how Riverside solves its agriculture demands and in what ways the community can help in these endeavors.
Hey! My name is Sona Kazangian, first generation Armenian female from Glendale, CA. I’ve been going to UCR since 2009 and I’ve learned to love the school and the community. I feel that this seminar can greatly improve the community’s food education and possibly influence students on campus to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I feel that my education experience at UCR has been and is great, my professors are exceptional and the people I have met here are interesting and motivated. This garden, with a little bit of publicity on campus, can influence people to grow their own food and question where our food comes from and think about how the food industry functions. I wanted to be a part of the garden because this is the only time in my life that I can participate in something like this with people that have similar interests. I can speak Armenian and Spanish fluently, and I love yoga and playing tennis.
N
Hello,
So I am not too sure how to do this, but it says it was due by Sunday night so here goes…
My preferred name is Laura. By preferred gender pronoun do you mean like she, her, kind of pronouns? If so then, those would be preferred. My home is about 40 min (with traffic) away from UCR. In my opinion, one way to improve the community in Riverside is to find out what people want and need so they too can feel apart of the community. The education experience at UCR, i believe depends on the person, and how they decide to see their situation. I have had some professor who seem to care about their students and then there are those few who can care less what someone learns.
I do believe the community gardens can help UCR, first it minimizes some waste by turning it into compost. Another way to educate people eating healthier and also sustainability. There are two main reasons why I wanted to be part of this garden. I either want to be a chef or go into Public health. I have heard of small restaurants in New York going green. On the roof, the chef and the staff have started a garden and they use the items gathered from there to prepare the foods. Some are spices, others things are actual veggies.
For public health, I am interested in getting kids to eat healthier foods, this is a great initiative to get kids involved in their community and teach them that eating healthy can be fun.
My passion for food is something I would love to share with people and also I would like to learn more about sustainability.
Laura Rodriguez
(I hope I did this right)
Angel Villa
Male
I live in Riverside, but I grew up in Baldwin Park, home of In-N-Out. I can improve the community by bringing my own self-determination for a better tomorrow. I have thus far enjoyed my education experience, because I have been challenged, but not to the point where I am discouraged to stop my education endeavors after I get my B.A. A garden can certainly be beneficial, because it will promote a more green future that advocates unification, which is why I wanted to join the garden. I am a fairly decent basketball player, and I enjoy to watch movies.
Hello my name is Francesca Floresca, but you can call me Frankie. I’m a Anthropology major pre-med in hopes to become a general practitioner. I’m a first year at UCR, but a second year in standing.
I come from a small town in the middle of the Mojave desert called Ridgecrest, but was once known as Crumbsville. The closest neighboring society is an hour away, so I’m not use to the bustling city life and traffic.
I enjoy the outdoors and animals, especially dogs. I currently have a pet dog, fish, and baby turtles. I also enjoy serving the community during my free time; I am extremely involved with the Circle K International on campus.
I feel like UCR is a wonderful institution to get an education and grow and develop as a person. UCR is large enough to provide bountiful opportunities, but still small enough to be cozy and homely.
I believe UCR would greatly benefit from a community garden not only through an aesthetic manner, but also by providing awareness and knowledge to students and staff on campus. By being a part of the garden, I hope to develop skills that would allow me to make my own garden and teach others how to start and maintain their own garden as well.
Hi, my name is Elizabeth Tizcareño, and still use it for some purposes, but I prefer eli in most cases…simple and short. I’ve been playing around capitalization of my name (e), and am learning to not capitalize the letter (E) as it feels a bit too dominating for the two other letters “li”.
My preferred gender pronouns are she, her. Home is where my loved ones are at. One of my homes is in San Fernando Valley where I was born and raised until I came to Riverside. The third home is Ahuisculco in Mexico where I go every summer to see my relatives. All three places have shaped who I am today and how I continue to learn and grow as a person.
I love UCR, not the institution itself, but the people who are a part of it. I have meet some of my best friends, mentors, and teachers on this campus who inspire me and I learn more and more each day. At the same time, there’s so much to do in Riverside, hidden places to visit and get involved, but also opportunity to create and improve what you see that’s missing.
A community garden on this campus? Yes, I think UCR community deserves this like other campuses. It’s been a HUGE struggle on this campus, which I was very taken back and still am knowing that other campuses do not have this problem. We have very conservative administration on this campus who view economic profit more beneficial to them than increasing fresh and affordable food options for the students. At the same time, I know this will happen and IS happening both on campus and at people’s homes. The purpose of a garden is to get back to basics, to learn and enjoy the food we grow, cook together, make community, learn history and act together. Hopefully, the seminar will do some of this in the upcoming weeks.
My name is Yesenia Gurrola. As far as preferred gender pronouns, it would be cool to incorporate gender neutral pronouns. I’ve never actually practiced using them but it would be nice.
I grew up in the city of San Fernando, which is in the San Fernando Valley( OG Valley Girl) I like nice old-school furniture, vintage cars (I can’t afford any), sail boats (also can’t afford any). Some of my hobbies include collecting knick knacks, reading, watching film (foreign ones are cool), solo dance parties, and walking around. I also have a pet fish that I stole from my roommate because she was a horrible pet parent.
Upon reflecting on my educational experience I can say UCR has been eye opening. I have left many classes having learnt a great deal, and I have met lot of grounded, together (some not so together) cool peeps that have also educated me. I have no doubt that having a garden on our campus is beneficial. This course alone is invaluable because it’s approaching education from a new perspective and ingraining knowledge in us through all of our senses, not just sight and sound. I wanted to be part of the garden to be connected to people who appreciate difference, and see value in educational experiences that are unorthodox. I figured whoever joined must be awesome and wanted to soak up their awesomeness (yes, that is a mean girls reference).
Hi my name is David Tabora and I’m from Tracy, northern California. Some of my hobbies are basketball, dancing, playing the guitar, and reading books. I like to travel to new places and to familiar ones as well.
My experience at UCR has been one of personal growth. I have learned a lot about engineering, environmental sciences, and my capabilities as a person during my four years stay at the university. Although the classroom has played a big part in my education, I believe there is a lot that it does not cover, and that is why I read books.
The community garden will not only be a benefit to the students but also to our community by advocating student and community relations and informing the public of sustainable food systems. I chose to be part of the garden because it gives me a chance to collaborate with other students, it counts as an internship, and I would like to learn more about the topic.
Hi my name is Katarina Luptowitz and I am from Palm Springs, California. A few of my hobbies are traveling, hiking, reading and swimming. I love going on new adventures with my friends, such as taking spontaneous trips to the beach or city like LA or San Diego.
My experience at UCR so far has been that of growth and struggle. I have struggled finding a path and passion to pursue into a career. My knowledge gained at UCR ranges from the biological and chemical sciences to english, psychology, philosophy and political science classes. Right now I am studying the German language and hope to use that in future for work and travel. I feel I learn more outside the classroom sometimes then I do inside as well as having knowledge that sticks with me.
The community garden will be beneficial in bringing together the student body and the community and hopefully jump starting a new healthy lifestyle here at UCR. I chose to be a part of this internship to expand my horizons and to delve into gardening, something I have wanted to learn for awhile. I feel like our society has gotten away from our roots, no pun intended, of growing and planting our own food and has become mechanized and reliant on organizations. Both my parents grew up on farms and grew, killed and picked what they needed and I’d like to get back to that. I’m hoping the community garden with help students gain a respect for our food that I feel was lost when food production became industrialized.
Hello Everyone!
My name is Marisol Pilotin>yeah I know I have a silly last name hu? People always get a few laughs out of hearing it, but it actually means Pilot in German. I acquired that last name when I married my husband David. And I have two little Pilots at home. My son Jaden is 3 and my daughter Londynn is 1. We use to live on campus at family housing, but recently bought a house in Moreno Valley so I am down to use my house for a UCR urban garden seminar party,
if you guys want…hehehe
So my education at UCR has been awesome because I feel that the school is very supportive of students with families and thus it would be great to give back. I know that families living in UCR’s family housing would take great pride and joy in helping us begin and maintain a garden. And I think that we really need to find a way for Administration to take our plan for establishing a garden more seriously. I believe the more support we get from students, the easier it will be for us to achieve this dream. So I think we really need to “advertise” our cause to as many people as possible. And atleast in my part, I can get the residents at UCR family housing to back us up! hehehe…
I really believe this garden can benefit UCR because it will be a way to bring together the entire UCR community. I mean I’m sure that different organizations, like fraternities, sorrorities, resident advisors, dorms, etc. would be very interested in being part of this garden. And the more united we are, the stronger we become. The stronger we are, the more power and say we have on campus-wide decisions concerning budget cuts, overcrowding, the quality of our education, and everything in-between. Plus, on the more personal level, can you imagine how many lives we can change and improve through this garden by learning about topics such as sustainability, having access to healthier food options, permaculture, and all the like?
I mean, the only thing that can come out of this garden is good! So lets get to it team!
My name is Eduardo, but I don’t mind being called Ed or Eddie.
Since I began college, my home has become UC Riverside. Before college, I called La Puente home. We can improve the community at UCR by holding events that all students can relate to or enjoy.
I have been satisfied by my educational experience at UC Riverside thus far. I have enjoyed the instruction of a majority of my professors and have never felt like there were a lack of resources to help me do well in my courses.
A community garden can have an extremely positive impact at UCR. It can serve as a source of education, food, and an example of the positive impact we as students can have on the environment and our community. I want to be part of the garden because I would like to learn more about what it takes to be a responsible individual who works with the environment to provide a sufficient amount of healthy food for others.
I greatly enjoy competing and playing sports. I also love being outdoors in the natural environment. I love camping and going hiking. One of my favorite things to do is go on long bike rides (which also happens to be an environmentally friendly way to get around).
My preferred name is Chelsea 🙂 I’m not entirely sure where I would consider my home to be, I’ve moved a lot and so far I don’t feel like Riverside is my home. The only place that’s existed my entire life is my grandparents home down in Poway. I began to feel a stronger sense of community at UCR in my last couple of quarters here and I think becoming involved with people and organizations that have the same vision that I do has really helped with that.
My educational experience at UCR has been pretty good, I was skeptical of UCR in the beginning but I do feel that UCR is a good place to get an education but it’s hard to become involved in the community here and I think that really shapes a persons experiences also so I think Riverside has a lot to improve upon.
I think community garden can benefit any place but I think it will definitely benefit the UCR campus because it will be a place for students to get together and share in good food, hard work, and friendship 🙂
I have a lot of hobbies, skills, and/or interests but most of them have been put on the back burner because of the demand of being a student!! I love to go hiking, be in nature, and breath clean air!! I love music, playing guitar, reading, hanging out with friends, and being environmentally aware 🙂
My name is Lila-Ann but Lila is preferred. I prefer female pronouns. I was raised in northern california until I was 10 years old before moving to Riverside to be closer to family. Riverside has been home for the greater part of my life however, I do not particularly like it here. I think in order to create a greater at UCR we need better campus center with popular food chains and pubs closer to campus instead of traveling a distance to ger to each. Despite the lack of community at UCR my education has been comparable to even better UC’s in the sense that we receive the same education without the highly competitive nature at other campuses. I think the community would be added benefit and much needed if we are to make strides in creating a community at UCR. The garden could offer and teach us a great deal of things while offering us great food to enjoy.
My hobbies are numerous but I particularly like enjoy activities outdoor: hiking, running and soccer. My intellectual hobbies include creating a healthier more just world through health reform. Importantly, I believe this garden is a stepping stone in that direction.
My name is Camie Luntao and I am a third year going on fourth year at ucr. Home for me is the South Bay, more specificaly Torrance and San Pedro which is part of L.A. One thing I didnt realize I was lucky to have in Torrance is a farmers market every saturday and tuesday, this is something I go to every weekend and ever since I moved to Riverside I dont go anymore. I think for someone like me who is not that into going out of their way to purchase organic sustainable foods or going to farmer markets, Id really like to see the availability of local foods closer to ucr students. The education experience at ucr is fine, but one thing they could improve on is getting more hands on classes, like bee keeping :). I do believe the community garden can benefit the campus by bringing in more students to help, maybe even hold classes in the garden. I want to be apart of this because I want to learn to garden and grow my own food and somehow teach people to do the same. I like to snowboard during the winter, go to the beach during the summer, and bike everywhere in between.
My preferred name is Mayra and my preferred gender pronouns are she and her. I live in Fontana but I was born in Jalisco, Mexico. We could improve our community in different ways. But all of this could be accomplish if several people start trying to make a difference in their community. Change takes time is all compose of small individual effort step after step. Our UCR community needs to improve their community interest. What I mean by this is that UCR students should focus on trying to help others. For example if we know different material for class try to help others by doing this we will be creating a bond creating a strong UCR community. My education at UCR has been a life changing experience. I have learned so much and I wish to continue learning, UCR is just the beginning of my education. I want to continue this learning experience in order to help my community and my love ones. I believe that a community garden can benefit our campus. It could create a bigger bond between the members of our campus. I wanted to be part of the garden because it seems very interesting. My favorite hobby is to exercise. I also love nature, I love to explore and discover new places that show how amazing our world is.
Hey everyone,
My name is Israel, but my preferred name is Iz or Izzy. I don’t have a particular gender pronounce preference although if I had to choose I would like to incorporate gender neutral pronouns as Yesenia mentioned above.
For me home is wherever I move about. I’m originally from LA, my hometown is Hacienda Heights (right next to Rowland Heights for those of you that don’t know), and I currently live here in Riverside. I don’t like to pick and choose one specific area as I feel that people have become too possessive over things, such as having a “me me me… mine mine mine” mentality. So home for me is anywhere and everywhere so long as I can survive with my surroundings.
We can greatly improve our UCR community through collaboration and teamwork. That is that we can all work together to spread awareness to our community, we can work towards better, more efficient initiatives that would allow for UCR to become greener. We can help create programs and incentives for people to want the R’garden. Most importantly, we can educate people as to what our cause is and how it will benefit our community. Together we can build up the momentum required to get this awesome plan into action.
As previously mentioned, I am most definitely for the community garden. It would greatly benefit our campus through enriching students’ lives with the availability of a living green garden that students can walk through, can learn about sustainability and can have access to truly fresh organic produce. I want to be a part of the garden because I feel as a public policy major I need to see what it takes to get something done. Especially being in the university atmosphere I want to see how much effort students must put forth to get our demands. I want to see the garden on our campus, so being the major that I am I would like to see how we can achieve this so that in the future I can be prepared to work towards better initiatives for the community that I become a part of.
I’m really into sports and I love busting random adventures. I have a short attention span and tend to be very spontaneous so there are many interests that I have. I love astronomy!!!(I’m a bit of an astro nerd) I’m completely perplexed by the vastness that is space. I’m really into tennis and am pretty good at it. I love boxing and teaching it too. I play volleyball, basketball (only good at shooting), football, badminton, table tennis, and other random sports. I love philosophy/political theory. I find the individuals that have create lots of commotion within academia to be fascinating and I love hearing about their ideas and their debates as well. I’m also quite the talker as you guys can all see! I enjoy telling stories and debating too. At my old campus I was a part of the forensics team (forensics isn’t like CSI it literally means the art of debating).
Krystle Jauregui
Public Health Policy/ Anthropology
My interest include traveling, meeting new people, playing piano, art and photography.
My talents drawing, playing piano, riding horses, and I speak 4 languages (english, spanish, french, and Italian).
I joined the team because I am extremely interested in how food effects human health as well as how it is processed and brought to our table. I am also interested in learning about what food represents to different cultures and how they view food. I also am hoping to finally learn how to have a green thumb. I want to give back to the earth instead of always just taking from it.