I am attending college in order to further my education as well as ultimately set myself up for a career in healthcare. I am also active in various extracurricular activities that are both strengthening my resume as well as strengthening my overall college experience. I am current active or planning on being active in research, internships, studying abroad, service learning, and student clubs. By the end of my college career, I hope to have completed the entire RISE (research, international, service, experiential) initiative.

   One of the main reasons I chose to attend IUPUI was because of their emphasis on undergraduate research. My current career goal is to get a job in research, be it academic or through a private company. Therefore one of the first things I did when I arrived at IUPUI was investigate possible research programs. At this point I have participated in one and I am slated to begin another in the fall semester. I would like to continue doing research to be sure it is the path I truly want to go down.

   I also hope to gain some valuable experience in an internship with a biotechnology company. Gaining an internship is very important, as it will allow me to experience work in an industry setting. I may find that I like that more and want to pursue that instead of pure academic research. I have not yet participated in an internship, but I will begin researching possible opportunities for the summer of 2014 very soon.

   As far as studying abroad, service learning, and student clubs, I hope to accomplish these later on in my academic career, but I have not given them as much thought as research and internships. I am a member of the IUPUI Honor’s College, so I hope to take advantage of my travel stipend and partake in some interesting overseas studying. I am also a member of Timmy Global Health, where I am an active volunteer at the Indiana University Student Outreach Clinic.