It was an honor to be a Brackenridge recipient this summer. When I had originally seen the posters in the Honors college in the Cathedral that outlined and presented the Brackenridge, I had never imagined that it would be an opportunity I would get to have. After doing the CURF, I knew I wanted to narrow down and continue my legal research, and the Brackenridge Fellowship provided me with the opportunity to do just that.

            Throughout this summer, my understanding of the meaning of research and everything involved has altered completely. With the CURF, nearly every aspect was virtual or online. Getting to meet and present in person was the first aspect of the Brackenridge that was very refreshing. For many of us, it was the first extracurricular experience (if you can even call it that) that we’ve been able to do in person in over two years. Learning about the trials and difficulties that others were experiences was refreshing as well. To understand that not everyone, in fact, almost no one was feeling like they were doing enough or getting the results that they wanted was largely motivating. It was a dream come true to be surrounded by individuals that were both academically inclined, as well as struggling at the same time, because it made me feel less alone.

            I also found it highly valuable and extremely interesting to learn about the research in the natural sciences. At first, it was difficult to comprehend, but after we learned how to present our research to general audiences, I suddenly found a fascination with things I didn’t really know anything about. I now know a conversational amount of diverse and random topics, which makes me feel more interesting. It was a gaining of knowledge I didn’t even know I needed.

            I also altered the view of my own research. I continuously was finding difficulty with both time-constraints and how large my research felt. My mentor and I constructed a plan to continue my research and to narrow it down, so it is more relevant and much easier and more meaningful to actually study and research.

            I plan to pursue my research under the same mentor that I had for the CURF and Brackenridge Fellowships. We are currently divising a plan to pursue a BPhil, which was the ultimate goal of doing the CURF and Brackenridge. Hopefully, the BPhil will broaden my knowledge of humanity, law, and research, and also make me a more competitive applicant for law schools.

            It was an honor to work alongside all of you. I hope I get to do it again sometime in the near future.