Moorjani Lab
This year marked my transition from a research assistant into an independent researcher. I recorded with injured rats, began working with monkeys in the Primate Research Center, and got to experience both the exciting and difficult parts of research. In Summer 2021, I used my project for my Research Experiential Learning Activity and in Spring 2022, I presented my results at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. Although I learned a lot from this project, I'm hoping to gain more independence as a researcher through my internship and senior thesis next year.
Undergraduate Research Leaders
Serving as a URL allowed me to help students find research opportunities, which can be difficult at such a large university like UW. Although I wasn't able to attend the meetings due to class conflicts, I really enjoyed presenting to FIG classes in fall quarter. Not only did this improve my presentation skills and being able to answer questions on the spot, but I also became better at sharing my own research experience. I'm also glad we were required to present at the Symposium because I may not have had the confidence to do so if I wasn't a URL!
Honors Peer Mentoring Program
Through online matching processes, mentoring orientations, monthly events, and quarterly check-ins, the HPMP supported over 100 Honors students this year! This wouldn't have been possible without our committee members and support of the Honors staff, particularly Nadra. As the Director, I developed my leadership style and learned a lot about what it means to build a community. I used this work for my Leadership Experiential Learning Activity and was awarded the Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship for Winter and Spring 2022.
Honors Community Ambassadors
It was exciting to be on the HCA Leadership Team but we saw a decrease in engagement from last year. Although it was difficult to pinpoint why fewer students were attending the meetings, I'm still proud of the diverse projects we completed this year. For one of these projects, my peers and I updated the Honors timeline to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Honors Program. I also worked with the Honors staff to host the Honors Student Reunion, which had over 100 Honors students in attendance!
Neurobiology Club
Although I was the Secretary and Design Chair of the Neurobiology Club, I definitely spent a lot more time on my design responsibilities. I created promotional fliers for all our events and application cycles and made sure each one had the appropriate details. I then collaborated with our President and Outreach Team to make sure these fliers were shared to our club members via email and social media. Although these tasks felt mundane at times, I became an expert at Canva and it was exciting to know that my designs were the face of our club.
Grey Matters Journal
I returned to Grey Matters Journal this year to prepare for our annual Evening With Neuroscience event. As a member of the Interview Team, I helped come up with questions on science and diversity for our panelists and interviewed them when possible. My favorite interview was with Eric Shea-Brown, who offered valuable perspectives on computational neuroscience and advocating for accessibility in neuroscience.. Although I wasn't able to attend the event, it was incredible to see how we can share our passion for neuroscience with people of all backgrounds!
The Daily
I only wrote two articles for The Daily but they were on some of the most important topics of the year. My first article almost beat The Seattle Times and all media outlets in the world in announcing the omicron variant in Seattle, and my second article was shared via the UW Medicine Newsroom. As a Korean American, the latter was an honor to write and it was amazing that my Tweet on the article was seen over 2,500 times on Twitter! It was also inspiring to interview UW researchers and recognize the difference that their work is making, both locally and globally.
Neuroscience Undergraduate Reading Program
The NURP was a new club that started in Spring 2022 and it paired undergraduates with graduate students to read scientific papers over the quarter. My mentor, Malayka, offered great suggestions on how to read papers effectively and challenged me to think about the broader implications of each study. By the end of the quarter, we had read seven papers and I presented one of them at the NURP Talks. These papers also inspired me to pursue language or individual differences research in the future.
Dawg Daze Leaders
I volunteered as a DDL in the weeks leading up to the start of the year. I participated in all sorts of events including signage placement, check-ins, Quad Flicks, a trip to the Woodland Park Zoo, a tour of the U-District bookstores, and Husky Kickoff. After nearly two years of meeting people remotely, these in-person experiences pushed me out of my comfort zone but they helped me realize how much I love working behind the scenes of events. Being a DDL also allowed me to welcome the incoming freshmen, which reminded me how time has flown since my own freshman year.
