Meet our new professor, Dr. Giselle Laiduc!
10 Things You May Not Know about Dr. Laiduc
- I was born in San Jose, CA, but grew up in Tempe, Arizona (I am used to lots of sunshine and hot and dry temps!)
- I went to college at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, and eventually made my way back to California to pursue my doctorate at University of California, Santa Cruz (home of the banana slugs!). I love living close to the ocean and big trees.
- My last name is actually a combination of my father's surname (Lại) and middle name (Đức). He combined them when he became a US citizen to honor his family after the Vietnam War ended (he was unsure if he’d be able to reconnect with family members that he was geographically separated from.
- My mom was a war refugee and came to the US when she was finishing up high school. Because of her own experiences growing up during a war, she instilled in me the importance of education, sharing “Once you earn it, an education is one thing no one can take away from you.”
- My love of food inspired a recent 2-month trip around Asia (and really, most of my travels). I have a particular love of corn and corn-flavored snacks.
- I have a secret Instagram account dedicated to cataloging all of the different kinds of chips I’ve tried.
- One of my favorite hobbies is trying out new hobbies. I had a short stint with pottery, but I hope to start that back up one day. I also like to go indoor rock climbing and garden!
- I love listening to music and going to concerts. Some of my favorite concerts I’ve seen this year are Beyonce (at Levi’s Stadium) and James Blake (at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery).
- I have a special place in my heart for art and design (specifically abstract art). In another life, I’d like to work as a graphic designer or a prop stylist for cookbooks.
- I can be a pretty indecisive person. For example, in college, I didn’t declare a major until the end of my sophomore year because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to study (I ended up getting a BS in Psychology, BA in Spanish/Portuguese, and minors in Studio Art and Art History). I’ve learned to take pressure off of big decisions and pursue what feels interesting to me–advice I try to give to my students when they’re contemplating big decisions.
Nov 27, 2023