SPU Stories

This is something I'm passionate about

I’m Samantha Jacobson and I’m from Boston, Massachusetts, and I’m a senior studying psychology. I’ll start grad school here in the fall....

I want to be able to help others

My name is Jacob and I am a junior at Seattle Pacific University. When first enrolled at SPU I wanted to be an engineer because I had a...

I hope to do something for a bigger purpose

Some people tend to think I'm loud and have strong opinions, but when they get to know me they realize I am really open-minded and...

To push myself to work hard

People look at me walking past them to my classes and think that I am shy or cold and do not really care about them. To me, this is hard...

My life drastically changed

Trigger warning: Sexual assault It was my Sophomore year when I faced the most challenging time of my life. Not only was I far from my...

I was so curious to learn

I didn’t grow up in a Christian family. My parents were both kind of Christian for their parents and my brother and I were baptized as...

I’ve learned to understand that

It’s been different, from home base and new base in the NW. People in the NW are more closed off. Moving here 10 years ago, I have...

I know I’m stronger

I’ll admit I’m pretty small, petite, and have a baby face. People assume that because of my physical appearance that they can walk all...

I still love to perform

At a very young age I was exposed to Disney movies which made me start to sing around the time that I started to talk. My mother noticed...

It's been a process to find who I am

I'm not afraid to be vulnerable and I care deeply. People have told me that I’m a strong presence and they often say that I am strong. I...

1 24 5

We are students at Seattle Pacific University. We designed this blog to challenge stereotypes by giving individuals a chance to speak for themselves, to create their own labels, and to share their own stories. Through the personal narratives of students, staff, and faculty at SPU we hope to celebrate uniqueness and unity, the beautiful truth that here we are many shades of one color: maroon.

Most stories have two photos. The first picture represents what we think people see when they look at us, the stereotypes and labels we have lived with our whole lives. After reading our stories, you can see photos that represent what we wish people could see when they look at us, what they will see when they take the time to hear our stories. These words embody who we are, what our stories have helped us to become, and how we want to be known.