Here in Korea I live in the dorms for international and exchange students at Korea University. Our dorms quite literally are on the top of a mountain and even in the few weeks I have been here my calves have gotten so strong. As a Sutherland Hall veteran, I have to say this hill puts…
Tag: Fall 2022
Expectations, Quizlet, and Everyday Life in Seoul
I think that I didn’t realize the magnitude of moving abroad for a semester until my plane landed at Incheon in August. I arrived in Korea knowing not a single person and with bright-eyed determination to soak up every experience possible and learn lots of Korean. I unfortunately fell for the trap of watching too…
CUTF: Navigating the Music, One (Half or Whole) Step at a Time
Over my four years in the Heinz Chapel Choir, I’ve had the privilege of working with Dr. Rice in a variety of projects. Under her guidance, I have successfully led practices outside of class, organized fundraisers, designed and distributed merchandise, guided Big/Little Induction Ceremonies, and have recently given starting pitches to the choir during our…
My Journey away from a Google Maps Dependency
I will not sugar-coat it; I was miserably stressed in my first weeks here in Brussels. Now, after nearly two months of living here, I laugh at my early-September-self for feeling so hopeless. Pre-Brussels-Adriana could never imagine that I would be able to find my way around the city without using Google Maps, that I…
CUTF: Transition State from a Student to a Collaborator
Dr. George Bandik was my own CHEM0310 professor during the fall of 2020. However, contrary to my expectations of an online course, Dr. Bandik kept the content engaging, asking students to contribute to the course, which surprisingly was easier especially since I didn’t have to state my name the first time I was called on….
CUTF 2: Becoming Involved in Teaching
I became a Peer leader for Dr. Bell’s class during the Fall 2021 semester, hosting weekly content reviews. One observation I made was that students often did not take advantage of the course resources until the days leading up to the exams. For example, there was low attendance at peer sessions in between exams, then…
My Journey to the CUTF
In many ways, the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Teaching Fellowship has provided me with a unique avenue to engage with the academic community here at Pitt. Bridging the relationship between professor and student, the fellowship has allowed me to directly contribute to how a course is taught at Pitt. Translating my experience as a student to a…
New Passions in a Big World
My “why Korean” story has never been the most straightforward narrative nor were my goals very specific when I first watched a YouTube video teaching me the basics Hangeul. I grew up listening to K-pop with my brother and would secretly watch Korean dramas in the back of my seventh grade classes when I was…
My Experience Joining a Lab at Pitt
One of the main things that drew me to Pitt was the multitude of different research opportunities available all over campus. I tried a few different types of research before landing on the VanDemark Lab and ultimately deciding that I was interested in wet lab and biology research. From my experience in my biology courses,…
Experience as a Researcher
My interest in research stems from a curiosity for how the world (especially the parts we can’t see) works. I want to constantly be learning about the mechanisms of cells, development, and gene expression. It was this passion for discovery that prompted me to reach out to Dr. Sarah Hainer via email about the work…