Honors Link

For the 2011-2012 academic school year, I studied abroad at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. I am a sophomore science student majoring in biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State and have taken essential courses during my time abroad, including physics and organic chemistry. I have had the opportunity to be taught by professors from the UK and from areas of the world other than the United States, and this has been a very enriching and challenging experience for me. I feel that studying abroad has helped me gain confidence in myself and has given me a new perspective on the world.

As an undergraduate, working in a laboratory research setting is not common at Lancaster; luckily, I succeeded in finding a volunteer position in a biomedical research lab on the Lancaster University campus. I worked under Dr. Robert Lauder and had an independent research project involving investigation of glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, and the effects of free radicals. I enjoyed adapting to the British way of laboratory life, meeting other lab members, and gaining further research experience by learning how to use electron spin resonance, chromatography, and mass spectrometry. I have no doubt that this uniquely British and independent research experience, the diversity of new ways of learning in the classroom, and my travels around the UK will not only aid me in applying for graduate school but in a future career as a scientist.

I used my Honors College Experience Scholarship funding to help cover the costs of a roundtrip plane ticket to the UK, my visa, and the OSU study abroad and insurance fee. These were fundamental in allowing me to have this amazing experience.

After my UK study abroad experience I will resume my education and research at Oregon State University. I am planning on going to graduate school and will possibly work toward a PhD in molecular toxicology. Eventually, my goal is to have a career involving the scientific study of environmental toxins, with the possibility to attend international conferences to meet and work with contemporary scientists on a worldwide range of solutions to environmental problems.