Update from our 2013 Scholarship Recipient—Juan Carlos Castrejon
December 2014
Dear PBKACA,
Finishing the first semester of my sophomore year, I have come to realize how close the end of my college experience lies. Fortunately, I have finally settled with majoring in statistics. Entering Columbia University with my mind set on financial economics and later realizing that it was of no interest to me, I could not feel more fortunate for having found an academic study that gives purpose to my time at university. Having settled on statistics, I have realized that I have enough space to pursue another area of study. Although I was initially interested in political science or theater, I am now leaning towards computer science.
On a different note, I have been participating in two clubs/organizations on campus. One club is the Voice Acting Club, which was created just this year by a student who was in my acting class last fall. Some activities include voice preparation, rehearsals for live performances and recordings for performance releases on the campus radio station. Also, I have been a part of the Chicano Caucus Organization, which has created a close-knit community in which students feel comfortable to speak out about issues important to them. At least to me, it is a community in which I feel more than comfortable to be open with the other students about things that other students might not entirely understand.
In all, the first half of my sophomore year has been great! I have been able to explore academic areas, which in turn has led me to set my mind on statistics. Also, I have had time to participate in two of the clubs I enjoyed most (of those I tried out, of course). Next semester, I intend to take another theater class for fun, but a lot of these plans and free time to explore the academics and life on campus would not be possible without PBKACA. So, I could not be more grateful to the organization for that.
Thank you,
Juan Carlos Castrejon