If you told me in high school that I’d be working full time in a neuroscience lab after graduating college, I would’ve laughed in your face.
By the end of high school, I knew only four things: I SUCKED at history, I did not suck at math, bio, chem or physics (I even enjoyed them!), I wanted to help people but was incredibly squeamish, and I HATED my summer working in a neuroscience rat lab.
When I got to college without much of a plan, I decided to spend the first year taking any class that struck me as remotely interesting: multivariable calc, creative music, forensic neuro, criminology and physics. Clearly, I had no idea what the heck I was doing, but I was sure having fun (criminology aside)!
In one of my neuroscience classes, we toured a lab that developed technology used for neuroscience research and I became intrigued. I asked my professor for help getting in touch with that lab but he never answered my email 🙁 I decided to take matters into my own hands– I scrolled through the university website, found similar labs, cold emailed a PI and was welcomed into the lab my first summer!
Chatting with members of the lab helped me discover what I was interested in. I ended up declaring a physics major, refining my research interests, and spending the next two summers in research programs that I absolutely adored. I finally found research I loved on the physics x medicine side of things!
In my last year of undergrad, I decided to take 2 gap years to do full time research before applying to PhD programs, and I ended up joining a neuroscience lab (how ironic!). My big takeaway from this experience? As I learned in high school, neuro research isn’t for me. I’m going back to physics!
I’m still figuring out what’s next, so follow along as I start my PhD apps!!
Thanks for getting to know me🤍