Through an Honors Arts and Culture Event, I got to go to the Seattle Symphony and see a behind the scenes tour before the show. While I have no musical background, I got to go and experience the music. For the first time, I could really understand the feeling and the heart that goes into each of the symphonies. I was able to truly understand others passion for music and want to reach outside my comfort zone to experience music. This event impacted me in that way: I went outside my comfort zone, putting myself "out-there" to meet new people and enjoy orchestra music. I am now interested in buying a $30 pass to see other symphonies put on at Benaroya Hall. 

I am a huge sports fan and especially football. Being in Seattle and at the University of Washington, I got to go to all the Husky football games as well as Sounders, Mariners and Seahawks games. These sports events are a way for me to cheer on my team and be a part of a crowd. My take-away for these games are the excitement and my own personal enjoyment of being a part of a crowd cheering on the teams as well as be myself.  Sports events have allowed me to get to know people on a more individual level and do something that I really enjoy with others. 

I have never used a laser cutter before, yet being on the University of Washington campus and having access to many different tools, I decided to learn. I started by simply watching videos on YouTube and then going and talking to people in the Dabble Lab. I do not typically just go and talk to others, but everyone was so kind and willing to help me learn. This gave me more confidence in talking to others as well as in my hands-on making ability. From this experience, I learned that I really enjoy being able to craft different things on a computer and see them come to life. While I don't want to go into Computer Science or Engineering, I am really enjoying being able to use my hands to make projects that my family will enjoy. I am also entering the project above into the Maker Summit!

I knew coming into the University that I wanted to get involved in research. I wasn't sure when the right time to start would be, but as I was looking through the Undergraduate Research Data Base I saw an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Starting in October, I began working at the Neurodeveloptment Disorders Language and Learning Lab. I am working on a project that looks at children with and without disabilities during play time with their parents. I have experience working with this group and am very excited to be analyzing the raw data that has been collected. This has impacted me in that I am learning about research and how it is done in a laboratory setting. I am now interested in pursuing research in the future.

I used this activity for my Honors Experiential Learning Application, which can be found here.  

More information on the lab.

Having worked with people with disabilities throughout high school I was really interested in getting involved this year. I got involved in three different ways here at the University of Washington: Best Buddies, Special Olympics Flag Football, and a Task Force working to bring people with and without disabilities to the University of Washington as students. These three opportunities are really exciting and I have been impacted by the number of people who share the passion for inclusion. Through my coursework and the experiences in these three clubs, I have been very fortunate to meet many new people and have a lot of fun during the week. Everyone here have allowed me to meet many new people and be a part of a team.  

I joined Husky Snow Club winter quarter and they provide transportation up to Stevens Pass. This has been a super fun skiing experience because I have never skied at Stevens before and got to test my own boundaries. I really enjoyed the experience and being able to take a break during the week to let off some steam. Although I wouldn't recommend getting a ski pass because sometimes it was difficult to have the time with all the other activities I have going on. 

I am on the Outreach committee of the UW Neurobiology Club. With this club, there are many cool opportunities to explore the brain in outings and seminars. This quarter I got the chance to go tour the Allen Institute. This was very cool to tour as it was eye opening to see the career paths for people with my same major. Likewise, they are doing fantastic research in the field of brain science, so it was exciting to learn about and see their fancy machines. 

Starting in Fall quarter, I joined a group of UW students, individuals with an intellectual disabilities (IDD), faculty, and parents to create a program for people with IDD to come and be students at the University. This has been a very exciting program to be a part of this year; I have had the opportunity to take on a leading role in deciding on classes, credits, workshops, and other integral parts of the program. I hope to see this program implemented at the UW in the near future - and have some of my good friends with IDD as fellow peers at the UW. 

Learn more about other programs like ours here. 

I started volunteering at Swedish Hospital on Cherry Hill at the beginning of Spring Quarter in the Surgery Department. Being pre-med, I absolutely love being in this department, getting this exposure and talking with the nurses. Seeing what I want to do motivates me to work harder in my classes since I know that this is what I would like to do in the future. Everyone is so kind to me and has been very helpful. I love talking with patients and getting this experience. I look forward to volunteering with Swedish Hospital for all four years!

Living in the Terry Hall Living Learning Community has made my freshmen year very special. I remember taking my first Honors class during Winter Quarter and walking in and 8 of the 20ish people lived on my floor or the floor above me. I saw the people that I lived with during classes, floor events, honors events, hall events, and just sitting in the lounge. At such a large university, I found my community and really value having the opportunity to live in Terry Hall. I met some of my best friends living around me and had amazing opportunities to see plays, concerts and talk with important people (Ana Marie to name someone). Besides that, there was also something going on at Terry Hall between 3rd floor movie nights, healthy eating treats in the lounge or rooftop BBQs, I really enjoyed my year. (Photo Taken from Terry Roof)