Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Major in chemistry and integrative biology
How does it feel to be an Illinois alum? I've spent most of my time at Illinois calling myself adult-ish. It feels as though, I will finally be able to claim the title of adult. Learning is all I've ever wanted to do, and earning a diploma that proves I have learned is a wonderful feeling. Although the future is scary, I now have four years of wonderful, scary, challenging, and rewarding experience under my belt to continue into the next phase of my life. I am grateful, nervous, excited, and ready to be an Illinois alum!
Major highlight? Finding a diverse, supportive community of friends in every aspect of my life. Not only have I found lifelong friends struggling in classes and working in a lab, but I have found a family in my IWRFC team. Wearing orange and blue and playing rugby with a team of women who always have my back and taking them to Nationals during my junior year was the most rewarding part of my time at Illinois. Besides getting the most wonderful education of course.
Undergraduate research: I was in a neurobiology lab for most of my undergraduate career, which taught me a great deal about the world of research. But senior year I joined the (Jonathan) Sweedler group and really found my footing and my passion for neurochemistry. I always knew I wanted to be a scientist, but I didn't know what kind until I joined his lab. Dr. Sweedler and the graduate students I work under have taught me more than just how to prep a sample. They taught me how important reading papers is, even if they are tedious and long. They taught me the importance of taking a second to think and problem solve before giving up on yourself. And they taught me that science, especially neurochemistry, is hard but totally and completely worth it.
Activities and organizations: Illinois Women's Rugby Football Club (President, Alumni Chair, Captain), Undergraduate Neuroscience Society American Chemical Society and Climbing Club. The rugby football club gave me a competitive outlet with no academic connection. It gave me an on-campus family to fall back on, to hang out with, to struggle with, and to care for while I'm away from my own. Playing rugby allowed me to keep being the athlete I have been my whole life while giving me a wonderful social network. Although it is not an academic club, it impacted my education because it gave me an outlet and a support system that kept me going when everything felt like too much.
Who had an impact on your educational journey? Dr. Jordon Axelson taught my Organic Chemistry I class. I was a sophomore with a serious fear of failure walking into probably the hardest class I had taken at the time. But Dr. Axelson did everything in her power to make the content digestible, interesting, and even fun. I would like to thank her for making a scary class a fun one and for helping me fall in love with a new field of chemistry. And Dr. Sweedler and graduate students Seth Croslow and Chen Huang gave me freedom my senior year to explore both chemistry and neuroscience in which I had little experience and helped me rediscover my love for chemistry and research. Not only did the Sweedler lab make my senior year better, but Prof. Sweedler also offered me a spot in his lab to pursue my Neuroscience Ph.D., and I am forever grateful for the opportunity and for future opportunities in the lab.
Favorite class? Organic Chemistry I taught by Dr. Axelson was my favorite class--a very hard 8 am class that I looked forward to getting out bed to attend. It introduced me to a subject that I didn't know I'd love as much as I do. It also ignited an interest in organic chemistry and how it can be applied to my other interests.
Keys to your success?
- Family and friends
- Time management
- Remembering to take breaks and have some fun
- Rugby
- Studying (not cramming, but actually studying)
- Finding interests and running with them
- Not overloading my schedule and my brain
- Participating in school spirit, sports games, events. etc.
- Not being afraid to ask for help
What will you miss most? Luckily, I get to stay and experience Illinois for another 5-6 years for my Ph.D., so I won't miss anything. But when I finally am done with this place, I'll miss the community that Illinois cultivates. I'll miss the constant orange and blue, the school spirit, the student section at games, the shared
suffering of every student who is trying to become better and learn something new. I'll miss everything about this place, except maybe the calculus classes.
Why Illinois? Everyone knows this school's academics and research are top notch. We don't have to convince anyone thinking about this school of that. The reason I will always tell a prospective student to come to this school is the atmosphere. The encouraging, supportive, expansive community that is cultivated by the students, faculty, staff, and everyone who is doing their part to keep this school running. There is not a single person on this campus who doesn't fit somewhere. We all have a place here at Illinois, and that is unique and wonderful.