Kyra McFarland is an Oceania and Pacific Islander Studies minor in the Department of American Indian Studies and was recently interviewed for the UW’s Transfer Newsletter about her experience as a transfer student.
Kyra was born in Seattle and grew up in the Skyway/Rainier Beach area.
She is a transfer student from Green River College who is currently double majoring in Archaeological Sciences and Indigenous Archaeology while minoring in Oceania and Pacific Islander Studies. She has always excelled in history classes and loves studying about people and cultures, so when coming into UW, she knew that she wanted to study Anthropology and Archaeology. It took Kyra a couple of quarters for her to really narrow her focus onto Archaeological Sciences and Indigenous Archaeology. She is following in the footsteps of the professors and TA’s that inspire her with their passion and knowledge of their field. Kyra is also Samoan, so when she heard about the OPIS minor, she jumped at the chance to learn about and use her culture in her education.
The transition into UW was quite easy for her, given by her previous running start background. She knew how quickly a quarter could fly by, and the amount of time and effort she would have to spend on assignments or studying to succeed in a college level course. One thing that she had to learn rather quickly at UW was how to get across such a large campus quickly before her next class started.
Kyra has recently applied to a PhD and Masters program in Archaeology as her next steps of her education. She said “It’s a daunting process, but the faculty and Graduate students in my department have been exceedingly helpful in guiding me in the right direction. The amount of support and help I’ve received from them has given me the confidence and drive I need to truly see myself as someone who can be the first graduate student in my family. UW may be a large school, but every department truly dedicates themselves to giving students what they need to succeed at UW or beyond.”
Some advice Kyra would give to students looking to transfer into UW is, “ Some of you might be worried about how much time you’ll have at UW; I’d advise you against that glass half empty mindset! Your time at UW is what you make of it, and there’s always going to be more opportunities given to you than you can accept.”
Kyra is set to graduate at the end of this quarter, Autumn 2020. Congratulations Kyra and we wish you the best of luck in your next adventure!