MENTOR NETWORK
Darla Howell '20
She/Her/Hers
Las Vegas, NV
Oxy Major/Minor:
Chinese Studies/Linguistics
Current Company:
NYU Shanghai
Current Position:
NYU Shanghai Global Fellow
Campus Involvement/Special Programs:
Black Student Alliance, Office of Community Engagement (SLICE), Community Literacy Center, Theater, OxyArts, Study Abroad Program in Nanjing
Secondary Schooling:
Fulbright Recipient/NYU Shanghai
Favorite MP/Cooler Food:
Omelettes in the morning yum! From the cooler, maybe sushi?
Best Oxy Class:
MSI Program or California Immigration Semester
Groups I Identify With:
black students, first gen students, students interested in study abroad
Bio:
Darla graduated from Occidental College, majoring in Chinese Studies and Linguistics. Originally from Los Angeles, California, her exposure to the linguistic and cultural diversity of LA inspired her pursuit of language studies. During her time in college, Darla traveled to China twice--once during a 5-month language immersion program in Nanjing. Darla has volunteered at local elementary schools and worked on arts and crafts projects with students with special needs. She has also worked in the admissions office at her college, interviewing both international and domestic prospective students. Outside of her academic interests, Darla enjoys performing spoken word poetry, participating in theater, and playing the piano.
Career Advice:
Make sure to build up resume, apply for a variety of different programs/jobs/internships in undergrad so you can have experiences to draw from during interviews and when writing cover letters/personal statements. Also, it might be difficult to know immediately what your'e interested in career wise, but when you figure out what you like, try to engage in activities that revolve around that similar field. That way when you finally apply for grad school, fellowships, a job, you'll have the necessary experience to succeed in that position.