start

I never knew my Mom's Dad because he passed when she was a little kid, but I hear my Uncle was a lot like him. He passed when I was in high school, but lived a very exciting and global life, living in Canada then Panama then Guatemala. Losing him really made me think about what mattered to me most, and the importance of family. I want to embody his sense of adventure and his love for family, because it's not always easy to balance the two. He's pictured below with me and my sister. My mom always said having us as nieces was one of the biggest joys of his life. Something I'll always remember was his generosity. He would travel far to see us, bring the most generous Christmas gifts for a kid, and frequently ran big charity events that I never knew the extent of until I was a lot older.

My Bahbah (Grandma) on my Dad's side passed away during the pandemic when I was in highschool. She was always signing around the house, walking in her neighborhood, and working on her garden. I know she had a harder upbringing than she revealed, but I never fully got the chance to ask her about it. I mainly remember her strong character and loud way of showing love. She encouraged me to be my best by showing me love, and seeing the beauty and joy in day to day tasks.

Growing up I was always pretty shy and self conscious. It took me a long time to get to know myself and understand what was important to me. Coming to University allowed me to explore what I wanted out of life. I started to meet new people and step outside my comfort zone. I tried lots of new sports, hobbies, and classes. I moved into a house of roommates. I even met my girlfriend by being more confident in my own identity. I realized that a lot of the struggles I'd faced growing up were internal, and I started to embody the confidence of my role models and even some new peers. The left photo shows me in my first year of college after doing a lot of work to grow my confidence and be more assertive in my efforts to take up space.

Inspirational Leaders

Growing up playing soccer (since age 3) I learned so much about teamwork, leadership, and respect.
I really valued being a part of a group of women and girls. My coach set a firm example of how to be assertive even when surrounded by people who might doubt you. She was always the kind of person I want to be, and motivated me to work hard because I wanted to earn her respect. She didn't give compliments super often, so when I got one I knew it was genuine and could feel particularly proud.

5 Traits of An Exceptional Leader
demonstrated by my soccer coach, Macy Jo

1) Stand for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone (this one is a direct quote from a letter of hers)

2) Give meaningful and direct praise when (and only when) it is earned

3) Set high expectations. It allows the people you lead to grow. If you show that you believe people will meet them, they will be empowered to rise to the challenge.

4) Build relationships and value individuality. The members of your team will feel empowered to contribute their unique skills if they believe they are in fact unique

5) Don't hide yourself to make others more comfortable. It's ok to be loud about who you are.

I spent a lot of time in high school questioning myself and thinking inwardly about who I was. As a senior I created an AP Art portfolio around the question "How can I use self-portraiture to better understand my identity."
One of the pieces I did is on the left, showing my parents and fragments of myself. I really dwelled on these kinds of questions, looking for concrete answers that are not always easy to find.

My older sister was a huge role model for me as a kid. Everything she did, I did too. After seeing her take violin in middle school, I took violin in middle school. After watching her join swim team and eventually become the captain, I joined swim team and became captain. I even followed her example of coming to UBC. I love sharing things with her and having similarities, and I think it makes sense that we happen to have a lot of the same interests. But things that differentiated us were important too, like soccer and painting. These became key parts of my identity because I felt they made me extra unique. And in university I differentiated myself further by exploring these interests, finding my own major, friends, and favorite places, but maintaining our close relationship. She is my best friend, and while I like to be my own person I would never be upset to be seen as similar to her.

I started my UBC degree with the intention to major in Visual Arts. On the left is an assignment for my first year, for a contemporary art class. I found that I felt constrained by the particular courses and assignments, and creating contemporary works, which were then graded in a classroom setting, wasn't really my thing, despite having always loved creating art.

However, the required Art History courses I took led me down a new path, and sparked a new passion in me. I grew to love the academic side of art, reading about it, writing my own arguments, and conducting in depth research about the conditions surrounding art itself. Many of the Art History professors inspired me with their passion for their own unique area of focus, and the courage they had to commit their life to studying it. I had never been so passionate about academia before, but I found myself reading long papers without wanting to stop, caring deeply about the ideas I put into my essays, and seeking out knowledge on the subject whenever I could. And I found that when I received meaningful feedback on my work, I was even more empowered to apply myself.

This passion for Art History eventually led me to an exchange at the University of Amsterdam because of the amazing courses they have on the subject. It feels like such dumb luck to see how my original major accidentally led me to a city that I now love so deeply. I know it's probably cliche and cheesy to talk about how exchange shaped who I am, but being in such a new place, completely on my own, allowed me to explore my own interests even further.
I encountered some incredible professors there who really inspired me to dig deep, and also learned about my favorite artist who has turned into a kind of role model for me. (See my section on inspirations to learn more about why I love Vermeer and what I learned from learning about him)

Coach Macy Jo
(my soccer coach)

Coach Laura
(my swim coach and first boss)

My swim coach was a big inspiration to me too, but in a very specific way. She coached me from the age of 5 all the way through high school, so she really saw me grow up, but no matter what age I was at she was always encouraging me to be my best self. She was even my boss when I worked as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and eventually coached alongside her.

Laura taught me that even individual performance affects a team. While swimming doesn't seem like a team sport, especially with a team of over 100 kids of different ages, she always pushed me to do my best not only for myself, but also because even getting a few points would contribute to the overall success of the team. When I eventually worked with her as a coach myself, I saw how true this really was, and tried to embody her coaching style myself.

I also learned how to be a better leader as a coach, both from the examples set by the coaches before me, and the responses of the kids I was leading. I remembered how important it was to feel encouraged by my coaches, so I tried to push the kids to be their best. Sometimes I would put kids in events I knew they didn't want to swim, and when they asked me to switch out of them and do easier events, I would say no. I told them to try it "just this once" and if they really weren't able to do it I wouldn't make them swim it again. What usually happened is they would end up being most proud of those swims, and even request to swim the tough events again. Through this I learned the importance of challenging those you lead, and showing trust in their abilities by continuing to give them the hard tasks.

The community I built through coaching is one of the most important ones of my life. Above is a picture of drawings done by the kids of all the coaches (my portrait is in the top left). You can also see my inspiration, Laura, in the middle of the bottom row. While I was in a more formal leadership position, I was also surrounded by all kinds of leaders, including my boss, coworkers, and swimmers on the team who inspired me through their own leadership behaviors and hard work.

Johannes Vermeer
Painter- 1632-1675

BAHR_V 505 DD2
Student Number: 40968307
7 June, 2026

While I of course have not met Vermeer, he is my all-time favorite artist, and as an Art History major and artist myself I had to include him as an inspiration. However, he doesn't just inspire me when creating art and writing essays.
His work is incredibly delicate and full of emotion, and stands out to me in a way that nothing else does. In his own life, he was seemingly pretty successful, and an active member of his community, involved in guilds and maintaining important connections in his local town of Delft. It inspires me how he balanced the pressures of a business and the conventions of painting in his time in such a unique way. He saw the beauty in everyday life, and captured the humanity of his subjects. He put an incredible amount of detail and thought into his work, including tiny elements that people are still trying to decipher today. I want to create work that lasts for generations and draws people in, and seeing his paintings reminds me of the kind of legacy I want to leave through whatever kind of work I do.

Artemisia Gentileschi
Painter - 1593-1654

Artemisia Gentileschi, another artist I will of course never meet, is also a big inspiration from history.
She was a successful entrepreneur in the Early Modern period, which was rare for women at all, but even more rare because she was completely in control of her business. She was the primary breadwinner for her family, and managed the logistics of her business herself while also creating the artworks. She moved from city to city and made connections wherever she worked to help advance her career and secure her autonomy. She was a leader for many female painters and entrepreneurs after her, setting an example by being one of the first of her kind.
As a woman, I really admire her independence, especially in a time where the world was working against her. I look up to her specifically as a role model artist and entrepreneur, who was able to do both and build a legacy for herself through meaningful work.

Living in Amsterdam was one of the greatest experiences of my life so far. Of course the city was the city beautiful, exciting, and new, but it was also the first time I was fully independent and able to discover who I am away from home and the people most formative to who I am.
I missed my family terribly, but I learned so much just by going out and doing. I even tried biking - which I hate - and learned that I hate it.
I would spend hours just walking around the city after class, looking in windows, sitting at the park, and enjoying each day for what it was.
When I returned home, I tried to take that sense of daily gratitude and curiosity with me. I think it made me a better person to be around, both for others and for myself.
I am really proud of how I lived while I was there, and I can fully say that I made the most of my time. I feel so lucky for the opportunity to have lived there, but I am also impressed with the work I put in to make it possible. I spent months applying, preparing, and planning. I took an extra job the summer before to save up extra money. And when the time came I packed up a suitcase and flew there on my own, moving into my place completely by myself, and learned to navigate (and love) a new city. I learned a lot about my own capabilities and independence, and I want to carry that forward to my future work and life experiences whenever I can.

I've worked hard to develop artistic skills, and confidence in my work, and have held a booth at several art markets. While the markets were small and local, I'm proud of how far I've come in taking my art and myself seriously.

I think health is a gift and privilege, but on top of that can also still be a big accomplishment. I am working to be better in many ways and I am always a work in progress, but I have also achieved lots of health and fitness goals that I am proud of. These can be simple things, like finding healthy routines and habits that work for me, learning to meal prep healthy foods, and trying to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. They also include bigger, more exciting things, like the half-marathon I ran during my undergrad. The picture shows me and my friends with our medals. Training for that race taught me a lot about self-discipline and growth, and what I can achieve when I believe in my own ability to do hard things.

Work is something I take pride in, no matter the task. I've been working as a barista for the past few years, and no matter how small the task, I apply myself to it.
This could be anything from cleaning to improving my latte art (I've improved since the photo I promise!)
I understand that everything I do reflects the business I work for, and I want to do my boss proud. She is another leader who really inspires me with the way she runs her business. Her kindness and attention to detail shine through in the way regular customers come back day after day. Her understanding of my busy schedule makes me inclined to work hard however I can, and represent her business in a way she would be proud of.
I'm also proud of my determination to work through school. I went out and dropped off resumes until I landed a position, and balanced early shifts with classes, homework, and a social life. It taught me that just because a lot of people do something, that doesn't mean it's not something to be proud of.

A recent experience I had with leadership was storm the wall. While I wasn't officially a team leader or captain, I was the person who brought our group together and officially signed up on the roster. This was something I had wanted to do since my first year at UBC, but each year faced some kind of obstacle that stopped me from signing up. In the past I had often asked friends who seemed only mildly inclined to really follow through. I would just ask if they were interested, as opposed to directly asking them to do a specific leg or the race, or officially sign up with me. I was determined to finally complete it in my final year, so I started asking friends to commit early, telling them it was okay if they didn't want to, but I needed to know sooner. I would tell them "we just need a biker," or "if you prefer to swim I can run," to give concrete options that warranted a concrete answer. After several friends committed and bailed, I finally got a group together to sign up last year.
With busy schedules, we didn't practice as much as I might have wanted, but I am still just happy we followed through and completed it. There were several obstacles, such as one member not having a bike, and another dealing with an injury, but I approached everyone with an open mind and assured them I really just wanted to complete the race. I think by making my priority clear (just doing it, not trying to win) I was able to help us reach the common goal of having fun and taking part in tradition.
If I could go back, I think I would realize that getting people together to complete something is a lot easier if you make your expectations clear early on, and ask for commitment more directly. In past years I was too gentle with my requests for friends to participate, and it led to us not taking part in the event at all. Making sure my goal was achievable, and communicating exactly what I needed to each team member, was what made it possible in the end.