Highlights​​

• I changed my post-grad goals. I've been​ on the pre-med track for the past three years but this quarter, I spent a lot of time thinking about my passions and what kind of future I want out of those. Although I'm still interested in healthcare, I realized that working in research, education, or science communication would be more fulfilling. After many conversations with my family and mentors, I decided that doing a research post-bac and eventually going to graduate school to get a PhD will keep my career options more open. I'm excited to see the kind of experiences I'll have and the people I'll meet as I work towards these new goals!

• I accepted a position in the Scan Design Innovations in Pain Research Program! I almost didn't apply to this program because I was rejected last year and thought that might happen again considering how competitive it is. Fortunately, this negative thought was short-lived and I put my best effort into the application, which led me to an interview invite with Dr. Tonya Palermo, who runs the Pediatric Pain and Sleep Innovations Lab at Seattle Children's. I was nervous because this was my first interview for a research position but Dr. Palermo put me at ease. I got to know more about her research while sharing the work I've done in the Moorjani Lab and expressing my interest in gaining clinical research experience. Dr. Palermo ended the interview by saying I would be a perfect fit for her lab and just three days later, I was offered a position in the program. I'm so thankful for this opportunity and can't wait to spend the summer at Seattle Children's!

• I decided to pursue College Honors. This decision wouldn't have been possible without Tom, my advisor for the Neuroscience major. I was hesitant about doing Departmental Honors because of the time commitment and the fact that I've never written a thesis before. But Tom clarified that the thesis is essentially a longer version of the lab reports for NEUSCI 301, which I've practiced writing all quarter. Regardless of which research project I end up choosing for my thesis, I'm excited to take on this challenge during my senior year.

​

Challenges

• Student engagement was really low. Our Honors Peer Mentoring Program committee worked hard to host engaging events for our cohort this quarter. I was most excited about the virtual Honors and Beyond Panel because out of the 40 Honors alumni we reached out to, six were able to attend and they all offered amazing perspectives on their respective fields. I was disappointed to see that only a few students attended but as I learned from my check-in meetings with Nadra, not every event is going to be successful and our hard work is worth it if even a few students are able to get something out of the experience. I also saw a similar issue with the Honors Community Ambassadors, where we had fewer students come to the meetings as the quarter progressed. I'm working with Carey and the rest of the Honors staff to plan a party for Honors students next quarter so hopefully that will encourage students to participate in our community more.

• I was overwhelmed during finals week. I had my interview with Dr. Palermo on Monday, physics final and Honors reflection due on Tuesday, and neuro final and lab report due on Wednesday. This meant I had to prepare for all of these things at the same time, which meant staying up late and waking up early every day. Although I was able to get through it all, I felt completely burned out by the end of the week, which was a sign to not overload myself next quarter.

​

Goals

• Focus on research. I changed my schedule for spring quarter countless times as I reflected on my burnout symptoms and post-grad goals, but I'm pleased with my final schedule. With a core course and an elective for my major plus an Honors course, I have 1 hour of class three days of the week, no class on Tuesdays, and 4 hours of class on Thursdays. Since I'm taking a lighter course load, I decided to sign up for more research credits, which means I'll be in my lab 12 hours a week instead of the usual 9. I'm excited to use the extra time to refine my research skills and prepare for my presentation at the upcoming Undergraduate Research Symposium.

• Enjoy all the events going on next quarter. There are certain events I've been preparing for all year like Grey Matters Journal's An Evening With Neuroscience and the Symposium so it'll be fun to see how those turn out. There are also events that I'm thrilled to be invited to like the Mary Gates Endowment Annual Reception, the Phi Beta Kappa Induction Ceremony, and the 20th anniversary celebration of Dr. Moody creating the Neuroscience program. I'm looking forward to making new connections at these events, which will hopefully all remain in person.

• Track my habits and tasks with Notion. There are several smaller goals I want to work on next quarter. These include health goals like starting to work out again and doing daily check-ins with myself, as well as academic goals like getting better at reading scientific papers and managing assignments more efficiently. I haven't used Notion in a while but setting up new workspaces will help me tackle these goals while allowing me to explore my creativity as I personalize them!