Dear Future BUSPer,
Congratulations on getting into Davis. I hope you’re excited to enter this new chapter of your life. I know that the transition from high school to college might be overwhelming but know that there are always people here to support you and are rooting for your success. When I initially got into Davis I wasn’t quite sure I belonged there because there was only a small percentage of black students at Davis and an even smaller percentage of us in the College of Biological Sciences. But after being here for a quarter I know that I do belong here and that I can be just as academically and socially successful as everyone else. But it wasn’t easy, I had to make a conscious effort to feel like I belonged. I started going to the Cross-Cultural Center and the Center for African Diaspora Student Success (CADSS) to meet other black students. I actually met some great friends who happen to be BUSPers at the CADSS center and they have kept me motivated the entire quarter. The BUSP seminar and events also allowed me to meet other like-minded and amazing people who I know will positively impact the rest of my time here at UC Davis.
The BUSP curriculum, while it may seem like a lot, is very helpful. It allowed me to gradually transition into college and the classes set us up for success in the long run. In the first quarter, we were required to take a pre-chemistry class with Kevin. This class will help reintroduce you to the chemistry topics that are covered in the Chem 2 series. I wasn’t very good at Chemistry in high school and even failed the AP Chemistry exam but Kevin makes it super easy to understand and will clarify and review anything you don’t get. Because I took this class, I’m sure I will be successful in chemistry next quarter. We were also required to take a Co-math class for BUSP which has been very helpful in understanding and reviewing concepts from Math-17A. In the BUSP Seminar, we talked about various topics that are all meant to help you become a successful college student from budgeting, mental health, study habits, and the value of how diverse we are as a group. In the seminar, we had guest speakers who came in to talk to us about various topics but the most impactful for me was when Professor Aldrin V. Gomes came in to talk about his journey and talk about his research with ibuprofen. It was incredibly inspiring and made me become more interested in research. It was very eye-opening because this research affects millions of lives.
While BUSP focuses on academics, it isn’t just entirely academics and we had a lot of fun too. In the fall, we all went to the world’s biggest corn maze in Dixon and had a lot of fun trying to find our way through the maze with other BUSPers. The BUSP network is huge so knowing that there are other people looking out for you felt great. We also had to meet with peer mentors to talk about anything from them pointing us in the right direction for whatever we needed to what easy general education classes to take. I originally wanted to join the BUSP program because I felt it would help me further my passion for science through research. I felt it would provide me with a community that will enhance my UC Davis experience and help me acquire more skills that will help in my potential future in research. It will allow me to learn in a community of like-minded students that share a common interest in science. I felt the BUSP program’s focus on collaboration would help me have a more effective and meaningful learning experience. So far I feel like everything we’ve done in BUSP has been very useful. If you’re on the fence I would totally recommend it, and if you’ve already committed congratulations on joining the BUSP family.
Sincerely,
Dideoluwa Ogunwale
humansofbusp 