An avid cellist and pre-med student, 阿比盖尔·李 was drawn to study both disciplines at Occidental, recognizing a critical link between preparing for musical performances and conducting scientific research.
Science and music: a complementary combination
Science and music are generally seen as complete opposites of one another. Although the cello requires years of practice and preparation for performing a piece or competing—executing the methodical steps of individual practice and the hours of nitpicking at a certain aspect—it aligns together surprisingly well with scientific research. 我选择主修 Cellular and Molecular 生物学 because of my passion for wanting to be a medical doctor, but also due to my fascination with the movement of cells and how their interactions influence the human body. 在音乐方面, I’ve been playing the cello since I was 5 years old and it was the centerpiece of my life throughout my adolescence, so it was almost a given that I wanted to continue pursuing musical studies at the college level and make something out of it.
Making a difference in the 健康前咨询办公室
Last year, I was the peer adviser in the 健康前咨询办公室. It was the first time the Pre-Health Office initiated a role like mine into the program, and I was very honored to be the first one chosen for the position. They implemented the peer adviser role so there could be a student representative who is empathetic and perhaps easier to talk to as a peer. Being a student who not only represents the office, but is also a pre-med student taking on an adviser role made a lot of other students feel comfortable and at ease with me. I think this opened more doors for people to start reaching out to pre-health advising without hesitation.
I also highly recommend attending office hours with professors. 就我个人经验而言, office hours were a critical time to develop personal relationships with professors.
Important resources for Oxy students
I highly recommend looking into the newsletters that many Oxy offices provide, even if it’s not the Pre-Health Office. Those newsletters contain lots of important information about academic opportunities and support. I suggest that students pay attention to the different types of clubs and organizations that are promoted during the first days of classes and put themselves out there. 例如, Scientific Scholars Achievement Program (SSAP), 同侪教导, and other student clubs are genuinely willing to help and provide as many resources as they can to assist you in your individual success. I also highly recommend attending office hours with professors. 就我个人经验而言, office hours were a critical time to develop personal relationships with professors, creating a space that naturally led to questions such as, “嘿, are there any openings for teacher assistant roles or 研究实验室 assistant positions next year?“就我而言, this was the first stepping stone that led to a multitude of opportunities such as my current research assistant position in Dr. Baran的 研究实验室. Office hours help foster relationships, which is critical in developing connections with professors as it leads to a fruitful outcome in securing recommendation letters from respected faculty members that really know you as a whole.
The importance of a liberal arts education
Being able to partake in a wide range of classes makes you more diverse and multifaceted in your thinking and how you approach different areas of your life. It brings an essence of “creativity,” allowing the individual to approach a question from many different angles. 毕业后, I believe my liberal arts college curriculum will continue to empower me to look critically at many different situations or circumstances I come across—almost like a fourth-dimensional perspective to see the bigger picture.
在Oxy，多元化和更多
My favorite thing about Oxy is the lifelong friends that I have made. I appreciate Oxy’s diversity and the multitude of different people from all over the country and all over the world. All of the different types of people that I've met make me appreciate the distinctiveness of students. It allows you to be more open-minded and interact with a lot of great individuals. I actually lived in 洛杉矶 prior to moving to Seattle, so it was a pleasure to come back to my original home and reconnect with my old childhood friends. 作为一个狂热的城市女孩, I adore 洛杉矶—its culture, 氛围, 阳光明媚的天气, and everything the city has to offer. It’s a city that will always have a very special place in my heart, along with 十大正规网赌平台.
I believe my liberal arts college curriculum will continue to empower me to look critically at many different situations or circumstances I come across—almost like a fourth-dimensional perspective.