I have had many experiences with the research and creative process. Many of my science classes, such as Chemistry 1220 and Biology 1114H, have had research projects built into them, where we conduct an experiment and end with writing a scientific paper in the same format as peer-reviewed scientific articles. I have also experienced the research process from a non-scientific viewpoint, with a research project in my English 2270, where I researched and wrote about the intersectionality of the LGBTQ+ and African-American/Black community.
I also experience original inquiry in the neuroscience/immunology research lab, where I volunteer roughly ten hours a week. Over the summer of 2015, I received the Research Scholar Award, which allowed me to create and oversee my own independent project, focusing on the synergization of chronic stress and repeated social defeat (RSD). I also recently completed a project in folklore, examining fairy tale musical adaptations and establishing a common formula and its effects. I will present both at the 2015 Fall Undergraduate Research Forum.
I will continue to further my original inquiry skills by continuing to work in the lab and the field. I’m continuing the stress project, repeating the experiment with splenlectomized mice to further find the immunological causes. I’m also pursuing a research project focusing on domestic womanhood in traditional and online media. I plan to use this project as one undergraduate research thesis, with plans to do another project in Neuroscience for a second research thesis.