Tag archives: Dear Montecito
This week I met up with Emily Stone, an MUS alumna and current graduate student at the University of Oxford. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Barnard College, Columbia University studying Environment Sustainability and Human Rights, Emily made the move to the U.K. to pursue her passion for conservation science. In our conversation, Emily introduced […]
Dear Montecito, I am writing you from a London Heathrow flight bound to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. From there I will transfer to Dallas Fort Worth before finally touching down in Santa Barbara where I haven’t been for 13 months. Stay off the roads tonight, people – I’m going straight to […]
Who doesn’t love a full circle moment? Today we have yet another wonderful featuree who is an alumna of the Mission Scholars program. Inspired by her time in the program and her upbringing here in Santa Barbara, Kristine Carrillo is a current senior at Brown University where she studies International and Public Affairs and Education […]
New schedule, new workload, new classes and more. Moving from the end of high school to the beginning of freshman year is one of the biggest transitions a student will experience, even when they are as college-ready as Annika Wagner. Last year Annika graduated from Dos Pueblos High School with a 4.85 GPA, 34 college […]
Today’s topic: future physicians and an enviable education. Santa Barbara’s tourists dream about moving here for the great food, beaches, and shops. But as locals we know that one of the best things about living in Santa Barbara is the education available to our children. From world-class extracurriculars at our elementary schools to a country-topping […]
December is a festive season. A month of family. A month of moderate weight gain. But for many featurees of the Dear Montecito column, December is first and foremost the end of the semester. To reflect on the end of term, we are reading a piece by Osiel Ocampo. Osiel was born and raised in […]
You know what keeps me awake at night? My stream of consciousness! Ba dum tss! If you’re not laughing, just know that a joke like that would kill at a cognitive psychology conference. But don’t worry, you’re not missing out because this week I am bringing the psychology conference to us with a little help […]
About a year ago I published a top 10 list: The Do’s and Don’ts of College According to Santa Barbara Alumni. The advice I received above and beyond anything else? If you have the chance to study abroad, do it. As I close my fifth and final year in Scotland, the place I moved to […]
What does it mean to retain innocence in the age of information? This week, 22-year-old Daian Martinez answers this question for us. Daian is a talented young writer whose recent work as a Raab Writing Fellow at UCSB explored the big and little things that affect today’s youngest generation. After seeing her zine “In the […]
In the Dear Montecito column, we have hosted writers, musicians, and filmmakers. This week, we are branching into a new medium with Lauryn Rousseau, a 2021 graduate of UCSB and the owner of Kawaii Klaws, a boutique nail art studio. Q. How did you get interested in nail art? A. My cousin was really into […]
Dear Montecito, Welcome to the 99th edition of Dear Montecito! Even though this column was started three years ago, I have been looking forward to our 100th edition practically since Day 1. It is not unpopular to say 100 is a very nice number. It is round and also somehow circular in that it encourages […]
I have a real interest in how UCSB organizations support student life. When I scheduled a meeting with the Basic Needs Committee chair Tessa Veksler, I expected to hear about all my pet favorites – food bank initiatives, menstrual health events, etc. But as the academic term comes to a close, Tessa reflected more broadly […]
One of my favorite types of articles are the industry-insider sort of stuff. What do experts know that we don’t know? Unfortunately, I couldn’t get an expert this week, so I asked my friend Jakob Hammer to join me instead. (Only kidding!) Please enjoy our light-hearted conversation about the behind-the-scenes of culinary school. Q. You […]
Twenty-year-old Isa Johanson is a current sophomore at UC Berkeley and an alumna of MUS, Santa Barbara Junior High, and Santa Barbara High School. From her first Earth Day and subsequent internship with Kathi King of Community Environmental Council to the 2018 mudslides, Isa describes the influence growing up in Montecito had on her current […]
Dear Montecito, What do journalists and academics have in common? They know how to ask good questions. As I begin to write my master’s thesis, I have been thinking a lot about the idea of the good question. After all, a thesis is itself essentially just a good question. And as I begin this process, […]
The first time I spoke to Clare Ogle we were sitting across from each other in high school AP Biology. Four and a half years later, Clare is a graduate of University of Washington in Seattle, where she recently completed her major in marine biology with a minor in Arctic studies. She now puts that […]
Santa Barbara’s young art scene emphasizes identity, voice, and change. All three can be found in the work of 21-year-old Isa Saldivar. Working their way out of the foster care system, Isa came to Santa Barbara as a queer, Chican@ outsider – a perspective that continues to inform their art. In our conversation, Isa reflects […]
Dear Montecito, I took a walk on Miramar Beach on January 6, about 20 hours after the first of the storm system had left our local area. Now in general I find writing about the beach to be a tricky thing. Perhaps because it is well-worn territory or simply too easy to become sentimental. Perhaps […]
Early career singer-songwriter Makena Tate attributes her confidence on stage to her Santa Barbara upbringing. The Crane School alumna says: “Being at Crane really gave me this great foundation for what I love now. It felt like there was no judgment, that everyone there wanted you to succeed. But having supportive teachers like Shana Arthurs […]
Established in 1982, Future Leaders of America was a joint initiative by Santa Barbara and Oxnard County to address pressures facing Latinx youth. By providing programming to encourage education and leadership, the founders created an environment where students learn what it means to effect change in their community. Today, we’re speaking to up-and-coming community leader […]
