Interdisciplinary Studies junior Dalia Rebolledo knew from a young age she wanted to make helping others her life’s work. After a life-changing personal experience with a social worker, she recognized her calling. Now Dalia looks forward to her senior year of the BA in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Social Issues and a certificate in Non-Profit Management. Read on to find out what drew her to the program and how she’s making it her own.
First things first, where are you and your family from?
I was born and raised in Mexico, actually, and I moved here to Texas when I was nine years old. That was in 2006.
Why did you choose UT Dallas?
I actually chose UTD because it’s close to where I live, but also the program of study was really interesting. When I was researching what I wanted to do for my bachelor’s program, I was pretty lost, to be honest. But once I found the Interdisciplinary Studies program, I was like, This could work, because I can customize and choose the classes I want to take. That was the plan. But to do social work — obviously, we don’t have social work here at UT Dallas — I was either going to have to do UNT in Denton or go to UT Arlington, and that’s not possible for me right now because of transportation issues. It’s a little too far for me. But I was like, What can I do in the meantime?And this was a good program. Also a friend of mine took this program, too. So I thought I might give it a try.
Why did you choose Interdisciplinary Studies?
When I did my summer orientation, they told me a little bit more about the program… I asked, “Can I take sociology classes?” That was my main interest. And they told me, “Yeah, you can take those as electives.” And I was like, That’s awesome! But I didn’t want to do a sociology major because there are some classes I’m not interested in. So I wanted to choose my own classes, that I found interesting, and that’s what I was able to do with this program.
When I was researching what I wanted to do for my bachelor’s program, I was pretty lost, to be honest. But once I found the Interdisciplinary Studies program, I was like, This could work, because I can customize and choose the classes I want to take.
dalia rebolledo
What made you want to be a social worker?
When I was sixteen years old, I was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, and that led to paralysis. I was hospitalized for five weeks and then I was in in-patient rehab for four weeks. Obviously, it was a difficult transition going from able-bodied to having a disability. The social worker that I had at the time — she made everything easier. Transitioning from the hospital to my house and making sure I had all the equipment that I needed, that I didn’t know existed — that was what made a big difference in that difficult situation. So since then, I’ve had a lot of admiration for social workers. I know a lot of people, when they think about a social worker, they think of working with children and CPS, but I see a social worker as someone who’s going to be a case worker whenever you get sick in hospitals. And even after that, the last ten years, I’ve had great social workers. I know they’re always going to be there if I need something, and they are very resourceful.
What’s your favorite thing about Interdisciplinary Studies?
My favorite thing — aside from customizing my classes and choosing what I want to take — is having the different skills from IS classes. I took an environmental class, mostly to satisfy my requirement, but I didn’t think I was going to learn so much from it, like public policy and public speaking and talking about these difficult topics. I didn’t think that would be something that I was going to learn, but now that I’ve taken this class, it’s a skill I’m going to be able to use in any field that I go into.
Do you have a favorite course or instructor?
My favorite instructor is obviously Dr. Wissinger. I’ve taken a few of her classes. I took her Nature of Intellectual Inquiry — that was my favorite class, mostly because it helped me develop more writing skills. We did a research paper! I had never done a research paper, and she kind of laid it out for you, what she wants, and she was very good at explaining everything. I feel like that’s going to help me, because this semester I had to write a research paper for another class but the professor didn’t give you an outline; she just expected you to know how to do it. So taking her class prepared me for the other classes I’m taking.
It was a difficult transition going from able-bodied to having a disability. The social worker I had at the time — she made everything easier. Transitioning from the hospital to my house and making sure I had all the equipment that I needed, that I didn’t know existed — that was what made a big difference in that difficult situation
dalia rebolledo
What are your plans after graduation?
That is a great question. I’m still trying to figure it out. I have plans A, B, and C. I think it’s good to have different plans, right? Plan A would be to transfer to UT Arlington and do my Master’s in Social Work. It’s going to be an online program so I wouldn’t have to actually be there. And maybe I can get a job and do that at the same time. I’m not sure. I hope that’s a good plan. The other plan would be to stay here at UT Dallas and do the MA in Interdisciplinary Studies. I don’t know what I would concentrate in, but there are a few good options. There’s Diversity, Healthcare Studies… That’s a good plan, too. The other plan I’ve been considering, too, would be to transfer to UNT and do their Public Administration master’s program.
What advice would you give other students?
I’m actually a transfer student, and I’m part of the transfer mentor program. I’m currently mentoring a new transfer student here, and the first thing I told her — well, first I asked her what her goals were, if she was mainly focused on getting good grades, or what was her expectation coming to campus, and she said obviously she wants to get good grades, but she also wants to be more involved. So my advice to her was go to the Organization Fair they do here, and they have a lot of organizations you may not even think about. Find one that calls to you and that you want to get more involved in.