Nutrition
Outstanding Senior
The Outstanding Senior Award recognizes graduating students who have excelled academically and have improved leadership in our College.
I came to the United States in 2014 and went to UNR in Fall, 2016. Though my family actually live in Southern Nevada, my mom considers Reno as a better place for study and urged me to go to UNR. It turns out that's one of the choices that I never regret. In UNR, I met many wonderful faculties and professors. I was lucky enough to get to Dr. Brad Ferguson's lab during my freshman year. I barely took any major classes and had no ideas about what was going on in our lab. Dr. Ferguson and Dr. Levi Evens (a graduated Ph.D. student) taught me a lot and were extremely patient and helpful. They are models and reasons why I took nutrition as my second major because nutrition is absolutely necessary for all mechanisms took place in our body. It was amazing that I gradually understand some concepts and techniques the lab was using. As I learned more, I realized there is still a huge gap between me and the professors I admire, but what I have achieved was something I never expected five years ago. I will continue my education in the future, regardless of which area I will enter (medical schools, dietetic internship, or graduate school). I will prepare for the MCAT for about one year and hopefully will stay in Reno for more time. During my past five years, I have learned: 1. Diligency makes up for deficiency. English is not my first language, and I also have a hard time reading, understanding, or speaking. I spend more time learning and catch up. It's usually a bit more time that makes differences between you and others. 2. 85% of what you worry about will never happen, the rest of worries either take time to solve or you won't change. I used to worry much (and I still worry sometimes). It's not wrong to dream big, and we need to tolerate the gap between the actual self and the ideal self. Life is a long progress, and I learned to accept the way I am. 3. Cherish people that inspire you. Research said people surrounding you determine your average level. Good and inspiring people are our best resource. I cannot use my words to express my appreciation to Dr. Ferguson and the people who supported me through my hard time. There is some downtime, we need reasons to keep going.