UW Tacoma provided me growth and challenge

As graduation approaches, I reflect on my experiences at UW Tacoma.

By Ella Walken

As my time at UW Tacoma comes to a close, I’ve found myself reflecting on what my experience a student at UW Tacoma has meant to me. My time at UWT has overlapped with some of the most chaotic years of my life. My health and personal life have made it hard for me to slow down and truly enjoy being a student, but as the calendar gets closer to finals week, I’m finding myself preemptively grieving my time as a student at UWT.

Like many students here, I came to UW Tacoma as a transfer from an in-state community college. I completed a year of running start during lockdown and then my Associate of Arts (AA) after a brief break from school. During my AA, I had very few in person classes and found that I was craving the in person learning environment. That is something I deeply appreciated about my transition to UWT.

On my first day on campus, I got lost and couldn’t find the KEY building. Without asking for help, a kind stranger noticed I was lost and showed me to my destination.

In that very KEY building I took my first history class. It was a small group of us who showed up on a regular basis, and the conversations we had helped spark my drive to learn as much history as I could.

From there, I would go on to take a modern East Asia history class with Professor Mary Hanneman every quarter my schedule would allow. As passionate as I am about history, actually memorizing information is a huge challenge for me. Hanneman always emphasized taking history in as if it’s a story rather than a collection of dates, which not only helped me perform better on tests, but allowed me to see the humanity behind every name and battle. I am currently planning a trip to Taiwan in 2027, partially inspired by the lessons Professor Hanneman’s classes gave me. I can’t wait to experience all we studied firsthand.

One of my most memorable experiences as a UWT student was Winter quarter 2025 when I participated in a study abroad trip to Rome, Italy with a focus on Italian travel films and literature. The two weeks living and studying in Rome gave me even more appreciation for arts, food and culture. It was an incredible experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

My main piece of advice for students at UWT is to step outside of your comfort zone during your studies. A great way to do that is to study abroad. Oftentimes, people assume study abroad has to be a long experience. While those programs do exist, there are shorter trips, some even being just a week, that can open your world up in a much more accessible way.

The study abroad was led by Professor Jennifer Myers Baran, a film professor here at UW Tacoma. In my time at here I’ve taken four classes with Myers Baran and cannot recommend taking her classes enough, even if you aren’t a film student. She is incredibly thorough and truly cares about her students learning to the best of their ability. As I pursue further education in film and media studies with the hope to eventually teach, I know I will use Professor Myers Baran as an example of the kind of educator I hope to be.

Speaking of stepping outside of your comfort zone, my time at The Ledger has been one of my defining experiences of undergrad. Though I did freelance journalism through high school and early adulthood, it was never easy to let my insecurities go and just publish. Choosing to apply for a job where every week I would submit my writing for constructive feedback and publish soon after felt like throwing myself into the deep end of some of my biggest insecurities.

It hasn’t been easy to let the self criticism go and just write, but through the help of The Ledger’s editors and months of practice, I’ve felt empowered to start trusting my voice and judgments. In my year with the paper, I’ve enjoyed covering local arts, campus happenings and keeping students up to date on Associated Students of University of Washington Tacoma (ASUWT).

That small moment of kindness in which a stranger helped me to my history class in the KEY building would be indicative of the relationships I would have at UWT over the next two years. Though our status as a commuter campus can make connecting with others tough at times, I’ve always found that when I needed help, others were there to assist in any way they could. My time at UWT has been transformative. I will treasure the opportunities I have had at this school forever.