Alumni Angle is a recurring series in which we ask an honors alum to update us on their current work and to reflect on their Honors College experience.
Name – Kyle Ireton, HBS ’12
Major – Biochemistry & Biophysics
Thesis – Nongenomic Actions of Steroid Hormones in the Ovine Endometrium
Q:What are you doing now?
A: I am enrolled in the neuroscience graduate program at University of California, Davis, where I am now a third-year student. I am working in the lab of Dr. Johannes Hell studying the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms in the brain that underlie behavior, with a particular focus on how learning occurs and memories are formed. After graduating from Oregon State, I took a couple of years to figure out what to do. I lived for one year in Montevideo, Uruguay, doing research and putting my Spanish classes to use. I then spent another year in Baltimore, MD, working for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which was when I decided to pursue a Ph.D. It felt like a winding and circuitous route, and I was never really sure if I was doing what was “right” or what was “best,” but at this point I feel like I did choose what was really best for me, and I am pretty happy and excited for the future.
Q:What is your favorite Honors College memory?
A: The spring quarter trip to see the Shakespeare festival in Ashland stands out in my mind as a really special experience. I bonded with a lot of Honors College students (and saw some great theater) over those few days—including with Rob Blenk (’15), who is now also a grad student at UC Davis and who I still love getting to run into!
This honors tradition continues. In the fall, students enrolled in the HC 407 Shakespeare via Ashland course with Eric Hill take part in a weekend field trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland in October.
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