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“DA Voices” is a recurring feature used to spotlight De Anza College’s diverse community voices. We ask the same question to different people and arrange their quotes so that readers can see varying points of view. This week, our reporter Katelyn Yoo asked, “What are you thankful for this year, and why?”
Simon Hall, 19, an animation major, said that he is most thankful this year for his boyfriend and their move to California.
“Wisconsin’s very conservative right now, especially the area I was in,” Hall said. “The people are way more considerate and accepting here.”
Rozen Kapadia, 20, a psychology major, said that this year she is especially thankful for her mom supporting her through her academic journey.
“When I first came to De Anza, I was confused if I should pursue psychology or not. My mom was like, ‘If you’re into it, then you should go for it,’” Kapadia said.
Dylan Kurniawan, 18, a biology major, said that he is particularly grateful this year for the perseverance his faith has given him to push through challenges in his studies.
“Yesterday, I was with my friends and we were reading the Bible,” Kurniawan said. “I’m doing pretty bad in all my classes, so the (Romans 10: 9-10) verse, ‘That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’ gives me hope that you don’t need good grades to get into heaven.”
Jessica Castaneda, 18, a computer science major, said that she is most thankful this year for her friends and their educational support.
“After my friends and I have a test … we go out, we talk about what happened and just comfort ourselves by going out,” Castaneda said.
Abigail Arellanes, 18, a computer science major, said her greatest gratitude this year is her flexible work schedule that allows her to effectively balance work and school.
“I work for retail at Target,” Arellanes said. “Because they (Target) gave me a flexible schedule, with one weekend and a Monday, it allows me to have the rest of the time to study for my classes.”
CJ Vuong said that he is most grateful for this year is his friends he met at De Anza through classes and his time as an intern for the Administration Committee in De Anza Student Government.
“Because of them (DASG), I have a chance to form a connection with and interact with more people,” Vuong said. “Sometimes, (De Anza students) might have difficulty in making friends, but I met really great people here, and I feel really thankful for that.”
