Honors 100 was my first introduction to the Honors program, and in many ways to the UW experience. It began with the assignment "Who are you?". In this assignment, I considered many aspects of my UW career such as the path that had led me to the UW as well as my plan of study.

The academic plan allowed me to begin planning out the classes I would take at UW. This forced me to begin to make choices, such as wondering whether it would be appropriate to take 19-20 credits a quarter. I learned very quickly that I would not be able to do even a fraction of everything I planned to do coming in.

This class involved not only reading books from prominent Seattle authors, but also visiting culturally and historically significant sites in Seattle such as the Wing Luke Museum and MOHAI. This class was an excellent introduction to the breadth and depth of Seattle's culture, and inspired me to keep digging throughout my college experience.

After each visit, I wrote a reflection . I was particularly touched by the Wing Luke museum, due to its architecture and exhibits.

Grey Matters is a neuroscience journal on campus which is produced entirely by undergraduate students. I have worked for the journal for multiple quarters as an author and editor, and this is one of my favorite pieces I have written.

The COPE Health Scholar opportunity involves the ability to volunteer as a basic healthcare provider in Swedish at First Hill. The program involves volunteering for 4 hours a week, doing tasks such as taking vitals, feeding and bathing patients, etc. The program has the ability to explore multiple departments and gain a variety of experiences, such as witnessing babies being born in the delivery room or observe surgeries in an operating room.

This activity demonstrates the values of service because it involves dedicating my time and energy to help the community. In Swedish, it is often the case that the nurses are overbooked and simply cannot handle all the requests of patients - my ability to help with basic patient care allows me to perform service for both patients and nurses alike.

My activity involved individual research in the Ailion Lab in the Biochemistry department. My research had consisted of working closely with my faculty mentor, studying the fitness of different strains of Caenorhabditis elegans in various temperatures. This activity involved performing original research. All of my observations in the lab were completely original and built on and complemented existing research, rather than simply repeating it.

For over a year prior to this research experience, I had been engaged in research in different labs. Research as an activity is quite interesting to me, as it offers the opportunity to be on the bleeding edge of a field. I specifically selected this engagement due to the opportunity to gain experience in a lab and to get an hands-on understanding of biology and neurobiology beyond what is taught in the classroom.