Katie Graboski by Caldonia Carmello

Last week I had the privilege of getting to know Katie. Before we even started talking I was drawn to her inviting smile and kind eyes. Throughout our conversation as she nodded along and listened intently, I learned that she was just as friendly to talk to as she looked. When I asked her where she was from, I got the most common answer I’ve heard at UD, second only to Newark, which was “outside of Philly”. She lives in a suburb with her parents, high school sophomore younger brother, and a tiny, hyperactive schnauzer whose barking a xanax couldn’t even calm down. Though she lives in a quieter neighborhood, she’s only a 30 minute train-ride away from center-city where she spends a lot of time eating and hanging out with friends.

When she isn’t working on chemistry homework, Katie likes to play cards and go on adventures with friends. I can tell from her charismatic personality that fun is never in short supply. To relax after a long day you can find her watching her favorite show, The Office, and eating chocolate peanut-butter ice cream (the best flavor of course).

After earning her chemical engineering degree at UD, Katie hopes to pursue an unconventional route, law school. This goal only reinforces her ambitious drive made evident by the fact that she stayed for winter session to take MATH242, a decision only those with questionable sanity and Chem-E’s make. Her plan is to become a patent lawyer where she can use her scientific knowledge. Eventually she wants to use this as a stepping stone into family and immigration law where she can help people on a personal level. Wherever she ends up, Katie is going to make big impacts and brighten lives around her as she already has for mine.

Caldonia Carmello by Romy Patel

From the instant I met Caldonia in english class, I knew she was an inviting and caring person. She took the initiative to introduce herself and to ask the first questions in order to break the ice in our group. She listened very closely and made sure to ask questions to get more details out of our stories. The way she cared about what we had to say, Cally also equally cares about our environment. As an environmental science major, Cally is very sickened by the lack of knowledge about human impacts on climate change. She is deeply passionate about spreading facts on the changing climate and how serious it actually is. To take action, Cally has joined several clubs here at UD including the Outing Club, Forestry Club, and the Earth, Ocean, and Environment Club, all of which show off the beauty of our planet and help keep our Earth free of pollution. Her passion for the environment explains why she wants to reside in one of the top ten greenest states, California in the future. As of now, Cally lives in the same place she is from, Redding. She made the trip from Redding, PA, a small town an hour from Philly to Louis Redding Hall at UD.

Outside of being academically talented, Cally is also musically and athletically talented. As part of the UD Marching Band, she is a top-notch clarinet player. Her time management skills from being in marching band, all of the environmental clubs, and in the honors program is surely impeccable. Not only is she a talented clarinet player, she also played saxophone in high school, doing pit orchestra for musicals along with choir and jazz band. When Cally somehow finds free time in her busy schedule, she likes hanging out with her floor, playing card games in the lounge.

Driven by her care for the Earth, Cally plans to pursue a career in environmental law or research with a group like NOAA. I know that she is a great person to have defending our environment judging by display of care for everyone around her in the time I had to talk to her.

Romy Patel by Katie Graboski

For this project, I was able to get to know Romy. Right away, I noticed that Romy is an extremely friendly person. Even though we had just met, talking to Romy was easy and comfortable. He is a good listener and looks you in the eye while he talks to you. As the conversations progressed, I found that Romy is a very personable and outgoing person. He asked many questions and was genuinely interested in what Cally and I had to say, which is what allowed our conversations to flow so well.

Like many of the students at UD, Romy is from Delaware. He lives with his parents and younger sister. Romy is a very social person and can often be found playing a competitive game of spike ball with his friends on the turf or hanging out in Redding. Romy loves music and has a variant taste that ranges from rap and alternative to country. He loves going to music festivals, specifically Firefly, where he has seen Post Malone and Khalid. Romy also enjoys traveling. He has been to many different states and has traveled with his family to India, but his favorite destination is the Bahamas. One day, Romy hopes to move out west, possibly to Arizona or New Mexico. He loves how different those states are from where he grew up and wants to experience new things. Romy is clearly not afraid to step outside of his comfort zone. After living in Delaware for his entire life, this would be a very exciting change.

In high school, Romy was very involved. He played soccer and participated in the robotics club, NHS, and Smyrna Youth Leadership Organization (SYLO). This isn’t surprising because Romy is a people person and a natural leader. These traits will help him with his desired future career as a physician assistant. Romy is extremely passionate about human health and helping people. I can tell that Romy is hardworking and cares deeply about everything that he does, so I know he will have no trouble succeeding.