This year, I spent about 170 hours in the training room shown on the right as a research assistant in the Moorjani Lab. My primary responsibilities included bringing the rats up from the vivarium, determining the handedness of pre-injury rats through an experimental procedure, and completing regular health checks, all of which have contributed to a greater appreciation for the scientific process. I also began my own research project under the mentorship of my PI during winter quarter, which I'm looking forward to continuing next year!

Becoming an Honors Community Ambassador (HCA) was a wonderful way to reconnect with the Honors community and pursue some fun projects. I worked with my fellow HCAs to make a promotional video for incoming Honors students and I am currently leading a team of HCAs in creating a peer mentoring program for Honors students. I wrote about these experiences in my application for the Gerberding Scholarship, which I was delighted to be selected for! I also spent spring quarter preparing to be a Peer Educator in the fall, a role I am super excited about.

As a member of the Neurobiology Club Mentorship Committee this year, I dedicated a lot of time to matching mentors and mentees, doing quarterly check-ins with my cohort (one of which is shown on the right!), and planning educational and social events. I learned a lot about what it means to run a program and how much time and dedication it requires. I also became a mentor for the first time, a rewarding experience that showed me the importance of sharing student experiences. I'm excited to apply what I've learned when I take on the role of Secretary next year!

Although I took it slow with The Daily this year, I was still able to interview some amazing people in the UW community and cover stories including PPE decontamination, 3-D artificial tissues, COVID-19 vaccine and clinical research, and chronic rhinosinusitis. The latter was my favorite one to write, as it challenged my scientific writing skills while allowing me to explore a fascinating topic related to neuroscience. This article was also the most popular article on our website for an entire week, which I wasn't expecting! To check out all of my articles for The Daily, click here.

After feeling a bit lost in the pre-med track, I became a member of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). By attending events like Med Apps in a Snap, I was able to hear from current pre-med and med students about the application process. We were also informed of opportunities such as virtual shadowing; I've done the Dermatology one so far and I'm hoping to explore the Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine ones as well.

Although I'm planning to take a gap year or two before applying, joining AMSA was exactly what I needed to learn more about medical school!