By Ace Garrett
My name is Ace (she/her) and I am a new face at UMKC. I am a junior this year—but do any other students feel like the last few semesters barely counted? Maybe it’s because I transferred to UMKC last spring (and being on campus again is so new) but I feel as though I’m still wrapping up the freshman year that was suddenly cut short years ago… maybe some of you know what I mean.
But even with the weight of the pandemic still on our shoulders, we have reason to celebrate this semester! The truly wonderful thing is that most of us are back on campus again, and we have new (and now obviously precious) opportunities to build community and connect again. I can’t say how ecstatic I am that I get to re-enter the college community as the Women Center’s blog editor!
At UMKC, I am double majoring in French and English (creative writing emphasis) and pursuing a minor in Manuscript, Print Culture, and Editing. I’m a Kansas City native, having moved back home after my short year spent at Occidental College in Los Angeles. I have always had a travel bug, and I never would have imagined attending college in Missouri, but I have already fallen in love with the Roo Community and am so grateful I found my way here.
As a woman and a lesbian, I jumped at the opportunity to intern at the Women’s Center. I am very passionate about gender equity and all branches of activism brought to the feet of our generation. Day to day, I spend lots of time with friends and family, play recreational volleyball, ride dirt bikes with my dad, study way too many languages, read and write (especially poetry), and try try try to stay on top of my schoolwork. True to my adventurous nature, I am at UMKC in pursuit of moving abroad post-graduation and travelling the world as a freelance copyeditor (and maybe a language teacher, writer, or translator thrown in as well).
I can’t wait to learn and grow with you all this semester, I hope you will appreciate everything we have in store!