Sonam Rikha – Voices

A Magical Experience: Pomona’s Harry Potter-Themed Dinner

Posted on March 22, 2022September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

By Sonam Rikha ’24 Universal Studios isn’t the only place where you can try the legendary butter beer from Harry Potter. In a matter of twenty-four hours, what once was Frary dining hall—a cafeteria for Muggles––is transformed into the magical cafeteria of Hogwarts. Banners of the four Hogwarts houses hang above the long rows of tables. Upon entrance, you are greeted by dini...

The Summer Internship Roller Coaster

Posted on February 9, 2022September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

Zoom with Richard Gere and other participants

By Sonam Rikha ’24 I never expected the exhilarating highs and crushing lows of last summer’s internship search. Who knew that looking for a summer internship could feel like a never ending roller coaster of obstacles and surprises. During the spring semester, students are often left scrambling to find an internship or some other opportunity to fill up the long summer day...

Campus Jobs: From Farming to DJing

Posted on January 26, 2022September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

view of DJ from the back, with turntablessurrounded by

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 With the increase in college fees and the many spending temptations in Claremont, getting a job on campus becomes a necessity for many college students. Luckily for Pomona students, there are an array of jobs on campus that encompass a variety of interests. Whether it be helping a professor conduct research, working at the Pomona farm, or managing the ...

A Break, A Rediscovery

Posted on January 19, 2022September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 Throughout the entire first semester, all I had on my mind was the days I had left ‘til winter break. Whenever I wasn’t doing homework or studying for an exam, I would fantasize about all the fun things I would do during break. I told myself that I would write a screenplay, finish writing a fantasy book I had started in the summer, apply to a bunch of i...

Breaking Out of the Claremont Bubble

Posted on December 8, 2021September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 From snazzy pop songs about the city to Disney channel movies set in the area, a glamorous image of Los Angeles has always been ingrained in my head. So when my friends asked me if I wanted to go to downtown L.A., I responded with childlike joy. Despite the warnings from peers to lower my expectations, I couldn’t erase the delicate images and stories of L....

My First Year of College—Again

Posted on December 1, 2021September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

Sonam with 2 friends, all holding fro-yo

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 Stress, excitement, and nervousness filled the air as sweaty sophomores dragged their luggage to their new home. As I watched Orientation staff and student workers enthusiastically wave their pom-poms while I walked toward my dorm, reality seemed to hit me. I’m here. I’m finally here. After an exhausting first year of Zoom university, I was finally able to...

There’s No Place Like Home

Posted on October 27, 2021September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

Sonam as small child with brother on sidewalk

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 Home. For almost all of my life, home had been West Rogers Park, Chicago. It was where I attended my very first day of school, where I met new relatives and a baby sister, where I learned to ride a bike. In the spring of my first year in college, I officially moved with my family out of the city neighborhood where I grew up to a suburb in the Chicagola...

Reconnecting With My Mother Tongue

Posted on September 21, 2021September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

By Sonam Rikha’24 “You’re not Tibetan, you’re American.” If I could get a dollar for every time I’ve heard that phrase uttered to my face, I’d be a millionaire. It’s wild how it's often the people closest to you–relatives, community members, family–who constantly remind you that you don’t belong. I never felt as uncomfortable with my Tibetan-American identity as I did whe...

My (Not So) Strange Addiction to Social Media

Posted on August 27, 2021September 21, 2022 by Sonam Rikha

By Sonam Rikha ‘24 Addiction: “a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, behavior, or activity having harmful physical, psychological, or social effects and typically causing well-defined symptoms (such as anxiety, irritability, tremors, or nausea) upon withdrawal or abstinence” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). If I’m being hon...