Scripps College senior Sydney Nemetz ’25 (photo credit: Corina Silverstein)
During her time at Scripps, Sydney Nemetz ’25 took advantage of research and grant opportunities to dive deep into her field of interest: the intersection of environmentalism, community building, and home-finding in the Filipino diaspora.
After exploring a number of women’s colleges, Nemetz, a year-round Birkenstock wearer, committed to attending Scripps College for the climate, stunning campus, and resources of a consortium.
“I thought that being in a place that was aesthetically beautiful and peaceful with lots of greenery would help me study,” Nemetz says. “Also, the thought of wearing snowshoes was daunting.”
Though initially an anthropology major looking to study different peoples and cultures, Nemetz was soon made aware of the environmental analysis majors available through Pomona College.
“I felt very concerned about the environment, and I wanted to study something where my efforts were directed towards it. When I found out about the environmental analysis race, class, and gender track, which is essentially environmental studies and ethnic studies together, I thought it was perfect,” Nemetz explains.
Exploring cultural heritage and home-finding as a Racial Justice and Equity Fellow
After her sophomore year, Nemetz simply wanted to make a quilt over the summer. A few peers at Scripps encouraged her to expand the project idea and apply for a research grant to connect it to her studies. She ultimately won a grant through the Scripps Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship program, a donor-funded program which supports student and faculty research and community-based projects involving racial justice, inequality, equity, criminal justice reform, and other relevant issues.
Created through her Racial Justice and Equity Fellowship, Nemetz’s quilt represents stories of the Filipino diaspora
A bay-area daughter of a Filipina woman, Nemetz had always taken an interest in the Philippines as a nation, her relationship to it, and home-finding abroad. To expand the scope of her project, she collected stories from members of the Filipino community and collaboratively designed and created a quilt to capture them.
“I had seven participants who are part of the Filipino diaspora and did an oral history with them about where they find home and what they think makes a home,” Nemetz says.
The project became really meaningful because I was able to have deep and important conversations about what it means to belong.
After conducting a series of interviews, Nemetz created the quilt blocks designed by her participants. She included ephemera tied to their Filipino identities to sew into the quilt, such as wedding invites and postcards. She didn’t display the interview portion of the project in the final presentation, Nemetz explains, because “those were more private. The main point was to have the conversations.”
After completing the project in the summer, Nemetz presented her work at the annual Scripps Research Tea held in Seal Court.
“The project became really meaningful because I was able to have deep and important conversations about what it means to belong,” Nemetz reflects. “I learned a lot from people about how they perceive particular dynamics within the Filipino American community.”
This project and the issues it addressed continue to inform and inspire Nemetz’s studies at Scripps. Her senior thesis explores home within the Philippines and how internal colonization occurs against indigenous Filipinos.
Nemetz’s experience from expanding a personal goal to a research project, finding funding, and finally completing the project contributed greatly to her learning trajectory at Scripps. She went on to receive an internship grant from Scripps’ Career Planning & Resources office, giving her the opportunity to take a position with the Filipino American National Historical Society in Orange Country and the Inland Empire to continue exploring and giving back to equity and justice efforts within the community.
“There are many opportunities at Scripps, but they do require initiative to get,” Nemetz says. “Once you do, there is a lot of funding to be granted to support student projects. Do your research early, and you can make the most of them.”