Julia Dankberg, a freshman in the Silver School of Social Work, carries a blue backpack covered in-buttons and patches she has collected since last year. Her collection includes fabric flowers made by her mother, political pins and buttons and a name patch she won from an eBay bidding war. Much like her personality, this Dallas native’s bag is unique and full of surprises.

Headphones

Dankberg always carries a pair of neon green headphones, a high school graduation gift from her best friend. Incidentally, she bought her friend the identical gift for the same special occasion. Her favorite bands include The Strokes, Smith Westerns and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Concert ticket

Dankberg still has a concert ticket to a Bon Iver concert she attended recently. “[The concert was] an amazing, mind out-of-body experience,” she said.

Photograph

Dankberg keeps a framed picture of herself and her best friend, Carly, in her backpack. The frame itself is broken, but it contains a photo of the two from their senior year in high school.

America Reads

The Silver freshman carries a payroll form for America Reads & America Counts, an organization that pairs college student tutors with young New York City students. Dankberg has been working for America Reads & American Counts for several weeks. She said she enjoys tutoring children and is learning to balance the job with her full course load at NYU.

Journal

Dankberg began writing in her red journal at the beginning of last summer. She said she writes in it before bed every night to help her sleep more soundly, but she has promised herself to never reread what she writes. The journal is full of entries, lists and a few Italian phrases she has picked up while living in New York.

A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Oct. 4 print edition. Kendall Hill is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].