Wins from this quarter

1. I gained some important leadership positions for next year. In addition to being a Peer Educator and running the Honors Peer Mentoring Program, I will also be leading the HCA meetings and serving as the Secretary and Design Chair of the Neurobiology Club. Fall quarter will definitely be a busy time but I'm excited to see what kind of work my peers and I will accomplish together!

2. I received 2 scholarships from the Honors Program. In April, I received an email informing me that I received the Honors Undergraduate Scholar Award for Spring 2021 and a month later, I learned of my selection for the 2021 Gerberding Scholarship! I am deeply passionate about the work I do but I was thrilled and honored to be recognized for my efforts in and out of the classroom.

3. I 4.0'd all of my classes. This is something that I never thought I could do in my time at UW, especially while taking the organic chemistry sequence! There were many obstacles along the way but my diligent work, growth mindset, and good time management have gotten me this far and I'm so proud that I had a strong conclusion to my sophomore year.

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Endings and beginnings

I took a break from writing for The Daily last quarter but once spring rolled around, I was ready to get back in the groove of things. I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up two of my favorite kinds of pitches, neuroscience and COVID-19 research, and both articles reached the "Most Popular" list on our website upon publication!

• April 27, 2021: ‘The potential link between the nose and the brain’: New research associates chronic rhinosinusitis with changes in brain activity​​

• June 4, 2021: UW Medicine researchers evaluating treatment options for early, symptomatic COVID-19

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This quarter was also bittersweet because it signaled the graduation of many of my mentors, most notably Ash and Jake. I have learned so much from these two, who have been incredible News Editors for The Daily, and my writing wouldn't be where it is today without them. In their farewell email, they talked about what being a part of The Daily has meant to them and recognized some of the staff writers who contributed to the section over the past year; seeing the line "Shannon consistently took on complex science pitches since the beginning of the pandemic as a vital part of our coronavirus coverage" definitely put a smile on my face. Although The Daily won't be the same without these two, I'm excited to see how it will evolve in the future.

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Pausing and reflecting

As I look back on the past year, the challenges that I faced come to mind such as struggling to adjust to online learning, being isolated at home, and feeling disconnected. But this is paralleled by all of the new experiences I gained including participating in research, leading the Honors community, learning Korean, and birding in my backyard. Ultimately, I learned that reflection is crucial to processing these different aspects of my life, no matter how redundant or scary it may seem. I'm so thankful that I was able to do that every quarter through this portfolio and I hope to inspire other students to do the same.

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Goals for next quarter​

1. Complete my second Honors Experiential Learning activity. I successfully accomplished one of my goals from last quarter by doing an Experiential Learning activity in the leadership category for my work with the Honors Peer Mentoring Program! Since I will be working about 15 hours a week in my lab during summer quarter, I plan to apply for and complete my second Experiential Learning activity in the research category. 

2. Improve my Korean reading. Although my speaking has significantly improved due to talking in Korean at home every day, my reading speed and comprehension is still lacking. Whether I take online lessons, subtitle for Viki, or read Korean books, I'd like to dedicate some time to work on this skill.

3. Eat healthy and work out consistently. The latter was a goal from last quarter that I didn't reach, as I stopped working out halfway through the quarter, and I've also noticed my eating habits need some improvement. By combining these things into one goal, I hope to stay committed to a healthier lifestyle over the summer.