By: Kyle Hebel
Christina Watkins, a senior computer science major at the University of Oregon, took an unusual path to land in Eugene. Unlike the majority of UO students that are from Oregon, Washington or California, Watkins left her hometown of Hilo, Hawaii to become a Duck.
Born in Seattle, Watkins’ family moved to Hawaii when she was seven to be closer to her mother’s side of the family. As a kid, she dreamed of one day returning to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. Unfortunately, even with the help of scholarships, tuition was still too expensive. Watkins decided it would be in her best financial interest to find another school.
Watkins heard about UO from her friends that left Hawaii to go to college in Oregon.
“When I first realized that I wasn’t going to be able to go to college in Seattle, I was pretty disappointed,” says Watkins. “However, a couple of my friends, who were a year ahead of me, came to UO and fell in love with everything the school had to offer. I ended up applying, receiving a scholarship, and I guess you can say the rest is history.”
Watkins dove in headfirst when it came to approaching the unknown. She had very few connections to anyone from Hawaii in Oregon and had no checklist on how to tackle the life of a college student. Her approach to the situation was to try as many activities as possible because “why let fear hold you back”. That approach eventually led her to join the Chi Omega sorority.
“I wasn’t a huge fan of Greek life at first,” says Watkins. “Seeing it on TV and how the girls can be portrayed in a negative light put a sour taste in my mouth.”
After a little debating, Watkins decided to rush Chi Omega in the Fall of 2010. Her ignorance about Greek life ended up being her biggest advantage. She had no idea about the tricks of the trade, the history of Chi Omega, or kissing up to her future sisters. She had no idea what in particular they were looking for in a future Chi Omega member, so she was able to fully be herself. This wasn’t more apparent than when she went in for her initial interview.
“I had no idea we were suppose to dress up in our best dresses, expensive shoes, and put on tons of gorgeous makeup,” says Watkins. “I came into the interview with a ragged, old sweatshirt and my UO sweats. I thought I made a huge mistake but they appreciated the fact that I was being myself.”
Watkins adds that since she didn’t try to win the approval of her sisters by dressing up and trying to impress them with a fake persona, she was able to quickly gain their trust. A couple days later, she received her bid to become a member of Chi Omega.
Four years ago, Watkins would have settled for familiarity. Now, as graduation day approaches, she is looking forward to discovering all aspects of the unknown. She recently accepted a job at Fast Enterprises and has no idea where they will potentially locate her until July. She’s crossing her fingers that they locate her in a big city like New York or Boston, but is looking forward to exploring a new area, regardless of the location.
The unique characteristic of embracing fear allows Watkins to approach any situation with an open mind. She started a new chapter in her life four years ago with that mindset and is now taking the exact same approach as she enters this next stage.
“Adapting to a new culture can always be scary,” says Watkins. “However, if you let fear control your decisions in life, you will never be able to discover who you truly are. Broadening my overall perspective and expanding my horizons outside of my comfort zone, allowed me to realize that maybe the world isn’t as big as we all believe it to be.”
