I am the Wellesley Effect: Caitlin Aguirre Ô20 Transcript

Video on Screen: A basketball hits the backboard and rim of the basketball hoop before going through the net.

Caitlin Aguirre: I believe that Wellesley was the perfect place to combine all my interests academically, athletically, and socially. I wanted to continue to add on to this legacy of service with Career EducationÕs Ministrare Council. 


Video on screen: The student who shot the basketball is revealed. Aguirre, on the basketball court, spins the ball in her hands, bounces it once, and throws it into the hoop from the free throw line.

Video on screen: Aguirre dribbles, passes the ball through her legs, and then shoots again from the free throw line.

Video on Screen: Aguirre sits on a bench with a friend, laughing. Pale pink petals from a magnolia tree cover almost all of the surrounding grass.

{Techno Music Begins to Play}

Text on screen: WellesleyÕs Campaign, dedicated to advancing the Wellesley Effect, funded Career Education, supporting students like Caitlin Aguirre Õ20, who are going to change the world. 


Aguirre: Wellesley was a really good fit in terms of blending my academic priorities with my passion to play basketball because now, itÕs a Division III athletic school, and itÕs liberal arts, so it allows me to continue to expand on both of my passions equally.

Video on Screen: Aguirre runs through drills in a circle with her teammates. They each bounce a basketball from the left to right hands. 

Video on Screen: A teammate passes Aguirre a basketball from off screen as she travels up the court. Aguirre shoots, and her teammate comes in from the left to catch the rebound. Ê

Video on Screen: Aguirre approaches a teammate, dribbling a basketball with one hand. Her other hand is raised. 

Video on Screen: The team, in a line, approach the board, catch the basketball after it hits the board, then throw it back at the same spot in the lower right corner of the board for the next team member to catch and throw. Aguirre, the last player, catches the ball and throws it into the hoop for a lay up.

Aguirre: Coming to Wellesley, I felt there was such a large community that wanted to make a difference in Wellesley and in the greater Boston area. 

Video on Screen: Aguirre and a classmate sit on a bench in the courtyard next to Founders Hall under a magnolia tree in bloom, pale pink petals cover almost all of the surrounding grass. They hold notebooks and have backpacks at their feet.

Video on Screen: Aguirre and fellow student talk to each other, laughing. The shot widens as they continue their conversation. ÊÊ

Aguirre: When I was younger, I always told everybody that I wanted to be a scientist and as I got older, I really like social justice and being able to serve my community in that way. Being a biochemistry major and a health and society minor, I believed it was a perfect combination that allowed me to broaden my perspective on social justice and combine my interest in the scientific aspect of that. 

Video on Screen: Now in a laboratory, Aguirre flips through pages of a lab manual. A new shot focuses on the laboratory manual. Aguirre continues to flip pages while someone pipettes in the background. She finds the section she was looking for and runs her hand along the chart.

Video on Screen: Aguirre holds a vial in her hands. A classmate then takes samples out of a centrifuge. 

Video on Screen: The shot widens to include both the student and Aguirre. The other student puts the vials into a tray. The shot closes in on the tray as Aguirre closes the vials with one hand, holding colored labels in the other.

Aguirre: So, Wellesley has given me the opportunity to not only work with other students but to work directly with my professor. I believe thatÕs given me a valuable opportunity to pursue mentorship and to ask questions and having that resource is so valuable to me in my pursuit for higher education and discovering what career field I would like to pursue.

Video on Screen: Aguirre pipettes a liquid into a clear flask/beaker, then puts the flask away. 

Video on Screen: A tray with a row of microvials is in focus. Aguirre carefully pipettes a liquid from the second vial. 

Video on Screen: Aguirre reaches for a container from shelves of scientific equipment. 

My ultimate goal when leaving Wellesley is to pursue a medical degree, and with that medical degree, I hope to put myself in a position to help underprivileged communities that donÕt otherwise have resources to obtain quality health care.

Video on Screen: Aguirre stores two flasks in a white box, then takes one and takes the lid off. 

Video on Screen: Back in the courtyard, Aguirre looks directly at the camera and smiles. 

Text on Screen: I am the Wellesley Effect

Image on Screen: The Wellesley Effect logo (a ÒWÓ inside a circle) appears.

[Techno music fades]