Writing for my high school’s newspaper was an incredible experience and even before I came to UW, I knew that I wanted to write for The Daily. I was one of seven applicants selected for the fast track program, which allowed me to skip the development class and start writing articles right away. One of the articles I wrote was about a recent study that revealed how deaf infants have more advanced gaze behavior than their hearing peers; I had the opportunity to interview one of the lead researchers at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences about her study. Another memorable article was about a UW Medicine physician living with stage 4 lung cancer and it was such an honor to share his incredible story. To check out all of my articles, go here.

I started volunteering at the UW Medical Center in the summer of 2018. Since then, I've had the privilege of working with a diverse group of people including patients, family members, and doctors. At the start of winter quarter, I got upgraded as a volunteer in the Cardiovascular ICU on Floor 5SE, which was a change in pace from being a patient escort. I had to train myself to become familiar with over 100 types of medical equipment and how to organize everything on the unit. I also restocked isolation carts and assembled blood culture kits, central line kits, transplant kits, and admit packs. It's a very hands-on job and it has taught me to think quickly and pay attention to details. However, I miss having more patient contact so I still volunteer in the dispatch unit from time to time.

When my mentor reached out to me during winter quarter about open positions in the lab he works at, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn't pass because the lab pertains closely to my major. It was the first time I made a resume and cover letter for a job application so that was a good learning experience for me. I was really excited when I got accepted and I decided to start in spring quarter. I had to go through several steps in order to get added to the protocol, including online exams and an in-person course with rats where I got to do a SQ injection on a Sprague Dawley rat such as this one. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances of COVID-19, I wasn't able to work in the lab this year, but if we're back on campus for fall next year, I'll definitely be in the lab.

I was really excited when I heard about the Neurobiology Club mentorship program because I was looking for a way to learn more about how to get into Neuroscience and what it takes to get accepted. In fall quarter, I was matched to a mentor who helped me solidify my four year course plan and guided me to a position in the lab that I'm currently in. I was matched to another mentor in winter quarter who gave me individualized support as a pre-med student and made me more certain about that pathway. I also got to meet other students who are majoring in Neuroscience through events such as the Pumpkin Carving Contest back in October. This was a really fun way to celebrate Halloween because it combined members of Epiphany, Psych Connected, and the Neurobiology Club. 

I'm passionate about journalism and the telling stories, but I never got to dabble in scientific journalism which is something I was also interested in. When I came across Grey Matters, I knew that this would be the perfect place to explore that. In fall quarter, I was an editor and the article I worked on was about misophonia. For the first few edits, I had a hard time absorbing the scientific information but it was a good for me to get exposure to the language of scientific journalism. However, the weekly meetings were late (6:30 p.m. on Thursdays) so I decided not to reapply winter quarter because of how late my classes were scheduled. But I can see myself coming back within the next four years because it's a great way to get exposure to various subjects within the neuroscience field.