Student Highlights

Outstanding GEW Student of the Month

March 2016 - Sabrina Kazem

Sabrina Kazem from Evan Smith’s GEW class, interviewed by Dr. Headley

Major:  Biology

Tell me a little about yourself and your background.

I’m 19 years old, born in Fremont, CA, and I will always be a bay area girl even though I have lived in the same San Diego house since I was one-year old.  I commute from Scripps Ranch, and I love it here, but I also love the bay area. I have lots of extended family in the bay area. I went to high school at Scripps Ranch, and I chose CSUSM because it is close to home and family, and I did not want to leave. It’s small but has enough people. Everything is easy to find, and it’s not a complete jungle. CSUSM feels like I am home. Right now I am taking classes three days a week, which works well because I can do my studying on Tuesday and Thursday.

What are you future plans?

I want to be involved in medicine. I’m torn between being a PA or a doctor of medicine. I’m going to apply to both, and see which ones work out best, and then go from there. My two older siblings received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology at SDSU and are involved in medical occupations. The love they have for helping people is what motivates me to follow in their footsteps. Most of all, the unconditional love, support and care I receive from my parents is what is truly sparked my love for this field. Understanding that they packed up their things and came from war-torn Afghanistan, leaving their family and friends behind, to move to America to provide a better life for their family is very inspiring. Their constant hard work and effort to keep their three children happy and provided for is something that I will forever be grateful for.

Eventually, I would like to move away for graduate school because I think it will be a good time—I will be mature enough, and I think I will be able to grow if I go someplace away from home. I love the idea of helping people, and it’s a respectable thing to have someone trust me with their life. I want the challenge of that.

What works best for you in GEW?

This is my first English class in college, and I’ve always been good at English. GEW is pretty smooth for me right now because I like to express myself. I really don’t like reading and responding to readings, but I like looking at advertisements and analyzing the visuals. When I read aloud, I think my writing sounds pretty good, and I don’t mean to sound cocky, but writing is something I enjoy. I’m not a huge fan of reading, though, but I have always been able to proofread others’ work and help them.

What advice would you give a GEW student?

One of the most important things is to not procrastinate, and I think this works for other classes, too. You can do a better job if you don’t put it off. When I start things early, I can take my time and do a better job on it. This way I can give it my all because right now, I see school as my priority. I want to balance everything—family, friends, and fun—but school needs to come first. So, I would say to not procrastinate, work with others, and to talk to your teachers. I think this advice is good for all classes.

What else would you like to share?

Ultimately I am pretty outgoing person—I like making friends and being surrounded by positive people. I try to avoid negativity. I like hiking, going to the beach,  the outdoors, and travelling. I also tutor. Finally, I love my family—they are very important to me. My niece was just born and I’ve been seeing her a lot. Right now she is my favorite person to hang out with. She is always happy and puts me in a better mood and relieves my stress.