As my fourth year at Pitt comes to a close, I continue to notice new things about campus. One degree’s duration was not enough to fully unfold the city. Although I worry I will leave still a virtual stranger, I know that’s not the case given the community I found while here. Looking back, I…
Tag: Karenna Oner
A Space of My Own: Embracing Language & Liminality
My grandmother is getting old. Her English is surprisingly good at this age, but words sometimes escape her. I see her struggle to hear my brother and mother over the phone, whenever they sit down to chat over WhatsApp. She used to struggle to understand me, too. In fact, she probably struggled to understand me…
A Call for College Students to Become Community Advocates
While I love college, there is one thing that never sat right with me about the experience. Countless students come from across the country, inhabit a city for a few years, and then often leave without a trace. Sure, they join clubs and create a pseudo-community of their own, but they rarely look up to…
Undecided? Advice For Majors Still in the Making, From a Senior Who Took Every Pit Stop
The spring before I planned to start at Pitt, I loaded my blue Ford Escape and prepared for the four-hour drive. I was leaving home to attend Admitted Student Day. As I started off on my drive, alone, I was left to contemplate what I knew would come next. I was not only preparing to…
My Global College Years At a Glance
Hi, my name is Karenna, and I am pleased to be serving as a Pitt Honors College Ambassador this academic year. I am a senior majoring in Political Science (International Relations) and English (Nonfiction Writing), minoring in Turkish, and pursuing certificates in Global and Eurasian Studies. I was born and raised in Fairfax, VA, where…
Goodbye, But Not For Good
Today marks the end of my summer internship, generously funded by the David C. Frederick Public Service Internship Award. In our final meeting, us interns were asked to reflect on our experience at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a prominent refugee resettlement agency. “I never knew that this was a career path,” I said. “But…
Breaking Out of the Box: Evaluating Skills Gained From a Summer Stuck Inside
As someone who rarely chooses to dwell on the past, I can’t say that I have too many regrets. That being said, I oftentimes wonder if I chose the correct academic path. Like most college students, I found myself bouncing between a few different majors. Eventually I settled on International Relations, with a focus on…
Kismet & My Unconventional Career Path
In Turkish, we have a concept called kismet. It can be translated to “fate,” a somewhat controversial idea across the world. I don’t know if I entirely believe in fate, but I do believe that opportunities in life come to us at the right time, and that closed doors are key to conceiving the future….
Our New Normal: Navigating Professionalism During a Pandemic
Hello! I’m Karenna, a rising senior at the University of Pittsburgh and a recipient of this year’s David C. Frederick Public Service Internship Award. I am a proud first-generation American, raised by a Colombian mother and Turkish father. My experience at the intersection of three vastly different cultures has had its privileges and pitfalls. I…