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March 4, 2024
From: Manny Hernandez
To: Jessica Cheng
Cc: Cecilia Hernandez Hi Jessica. Thanks for the update and your permission to share some of our correspondence with SBCSC. Good luck with Finals - no doubt, you’ll do well. I don’t think you forgot ‘how to learn’ :-). College environment is quite different and much faster paced than high school. We also experienced with our own children that bigger class size and less access to teachers/professors made college more difficult. You see, we were all nurtured in high school - good teacher to student ratio, easy access, and most teachers truly cared about us and our progress. College professors cannot do that in big university campuses. So it’s on you to adjust and adopt. And looks like you’re doing that now, i.e. 3 classes vs 4 STEM classes. Just make sure you find the right balance. Too light of a load can result in procrastination because now you have more time. Too much load, as you’ve experienced, could be tough. So I’m glad you’re trying to find your balance. I agree with holding off on internship until you’ve gotten 1 year under your belt. Great news re Ireland - that’s exciting. Anyway, thanks again for sharing your progress with us. Don’t forget - you’re there to have fun as well :-) Rgds..Manny & Cecile ————————————————————————- March 3, 2024
From: Jessica Cheng
Hi Manny! My quarter has been quite hectic so far, but everything is currently good! Please feel free to share any of my notes with the committee, and let me know if there's anything specific they're curious about. In terms of how I'm doing... I ended up, as mentioned, taking on a pretty heavy course load with my 4 STEM classes. Even though I think I can probably get through the quarter with A's and A-'s (maybe a B or something at worst), I discovered through this quarter that I don't actually know "how to learn" ha ha. It was an interesting realization, because I was able to mostly cruise through high school. Here though, with the harder curriculum and insanely fast-paced schedule, it has been challenging to stay on top of things. So this was definitely something I learned about myself, in terms of areas in which I need improvement. Next quarter, I plan to take only three classes (two upper div's, and one lower div), just to reset myself and focus more on making sure I'm building better study habits and truly digesting all the content. To make up for the reduced number of units I'm taking here in the spring, I'll likely take two more classes over the summer at Ohlone. Hopefully after all this, I'll be all set to do well academically when studying abroad in Ireland (I got approved by Davis to go, so I'll just need to apply by next month!) I'm still on track to graduating in three years though, and I was able to officially declare a double major in Applied Statistics! I've also found a club that I enjoy–Math Club. I only pick up maybe a tenth of the content they talk about in weekly meetings, but I've made a super smart friend who always fills me in and explains everything I don't understand. It's quite awesome ha-ha. In terms of looking for an internship this summer, I've decided that I want to put that off to next summer and focus more on my studies for the short term at least. With second-year standing instead of first, it'll also be easier for me to find opportunities too. My plans/goals are often shifting, and I'm constantly figuring out what to do next, as I am also right now as I'm typing this up XD. So that's about it for now! Finals are in two weeks, so I'm currently on my finals grind. I'll be able to provide more detailed updates after the quarter ends and everything settles down 😌 Warmly, Jessica ————————————————————- March 2, 2024
From: Manny Hernandez Hi Jessica. Hope you’re doing well. Cecile and I attend the SBCSC Chinese New Year Banquet tonight and we were both reminded of you. I happen to mention to Clifton [new President] and Joe [ex-President and now Director] that we have corresponded in the past and we were delighted to see your updates and progress. I mentioned to them that the group should consider continuing aide to previous scholar recipients if they met certain criteria. They were both intrigued by my question/idea. They also asked if we could share some of your notes, like the one below. If it’s OK with you, I would very much like to do that to further my suggestion. That way, we can continue to assist students like you. Let me know. I will only do so with your permission. Would also love to get an update on how you’re doing both on your studies and how you’re managing college life. Rgds..MannyH ———————————————————- January 11, 2024
From: Manny Hernandez Hi Jessica, Happy New Year. I've been having email troubles so just saw this one. Thanks for the update. I am fully retired now [since Oct 1 2023], but can still reach out to a couple of ex-colleagues re potential internships. Yes, Pls send me updated bio. We're still in Manila with the whole family (9), but will handle upon our return. Rgds..MannyH ———————————————————- December 30, 2023
From: Jessica Cheng Hello again! I hope you both have enjoyed the holidays thus far! I wanted to provide another update, since our fall quarter ended recently, and grades have been finalized: • on classes: I took four (Calculus II/III, a Python programming class, Intro to Acting, and a course on Chinese literature), and received grades of A-, A, A+, and P (passed), respectively 😎. The calculus class was most challenging, but I did enjoy it. And now that I feel that I've gotten the hang of how academics are here at Davis, next quarter, I plan to take five classes, all STEM ha-ha. This is primarily because I've decided to double major in Statistics on top of my Mathematical Analytics & Operations Research major, while also, hopefully, graduating in three years. • on dorm life: I've had a much better time living in the dorms than I would have ever anticipated, and I really love how there are always people around to have great conversations with. I've turned my next-door neighbors into close friends, and have also met an absolutely wonderful person at the gym (she's a PhD student from Portugal, here on a scholarship, and I hit the gym with her every morning at 5:30am 😁). • on extracurricular: I haven't found any clubs on campus that I click with yet, but I do plan on pursuing statistics-related research next quarter! I hope to engage in something that will squeeze and wring out my brain, so working with a professor and learning new things (besides what's taught in the classroom) is something high on my list of priorities. • other general notes: I didn't drink or party at all (nor do I plan to in the foreseeable future ha ha), but I genuinely had way more fun this past quarter than I did throughout my four years of high school (I even went on a date for the first time ever! Things ended up souring, but it was still an interesting experience XD). I enjoyed the independence, the diversity of people all across campus, and the spontaneity of college life–random frisbee games, movie nights, midnight games, and so much more. Being at college has also prompted me to channel my inner philosopher at times, as I think about what it is I'm trying to pursue in life. I've decided that I want to study abroad next year as well, in Ireland, because I feel that it would be an experience that can give me a different perspective on the world, and perhaps help me find further clarity in my future goals. That's about it for now though, and I hope I didn't bombard you both with too much text ha ha. And on an unrelated note–Manny, I know that you briefly mentioned potential summer internship opportunities a good while back. If there is anything that you know of in operations/business/finance, I'd absolutely love to swoop in on the opportunity. If my resume is needed, or if there are people I should reach out to, please let me know and I'll get on it :) And as always, Manny and Cecile, thank you both again! ——————————————————- September 20, 2023
From: Manny Hernandez Thanks for the update and Congrats!! Wishing you the best. Importantly, ENJOY college!! Rgds..Manny & Cecile —————————————————— September 20, 2023
From: Jessica Cheng Hi Manny (and Cecile too!), I hope that you both are doing well! i just wanted to let you guys know that I have officially moved into college, and will be starting classes next week! I've already met a few pretty cool people, and am excited to explore everything Davis has to offer :) Also, I'll keep all relevant updates in this thread going forward, because I don't want to spam you guys ha ha. Warmly, Jessica
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