Neuroscience

Why did you choose Lake Forest College? 

I chose Lake Forest College because I got to know just how supportive the faculty are, how many opportunities there are for students to succeed, and how many ways there are to get involved with research early on.

What attracted you to the Neuroscience major?

Neuroscience has been my interest for most of my life, so it was never a question whether I would pursue it in college. What kept me in the major from start to end was the clearly interdisciplinary approach that the courses take, the way that disparate topics were made clear to play off each other, and the ways that faculty helped students identify and participate in research.

What are your career goals and how did Lake Forest College help you arrive at and achieve these goals?

I want to pursue meaningful research in medicine. Lake Forest College motivated me to push the boundaries on what that meant.

How have the opportunities in college helped shape your college experience? 

One key thing that did a lot to shape my college experience was being able to be a Peer Teacher for BIOL 221. Not only did I learn more about the other side of how classes operate, but I also got to learn more about how to help other students succeed. This, along with the time I tutored in the Quantitative Resource Center, makes up a big part of the experience I took away from college.

What are one or more distinctive experiences in your major that make it stand out?

K-6 outreach was one of my favorite parts of the major. Getting kids excited about the brain, while helping them learn a thing or two about science, was one of the highlights of the program. On a completely different side, going and attending the conferences in Chicago, seeing all of the cool things they have to show, and the feeling of being able to understand what is going on using what we learned in class are things that have not left me.

What advice would you give to a high school student looking to pursue neuroscience and is considering Lake Forest College?

Do talk to the faculty and current students. Visit the college. It’s at least worth the consideration. I have yet to hear from someone who has had a better experience in a Neuroscience Program than at Lake Forest College.