Spring 2024

My name is Isabella and I’m a third-semester student in the VIP Brain Communications course. I really like the VIP courses because they make me feel like a true scientist. I feel so much pride and joy when I come into lab every day, and it’s really solidified that I want to pursue research as a career after undergrad.

Spring 2024

My name is Dinah and I’ve been in the VIP Brain program for three semesters now. This program has really built my confidence as a researcher and a scientist because I have a lot of sense of ownership over these projects. It’s also a great networking opportunity, as we have met so many amazing scientists and amazing faculty here at the U of A, and other students who are all very passionate about research and very helpful for students who are looking to get into it.

Spring 2024

My name is Jesus and I am in Dr. Bhattacharya’s Brain Communications course. In this course you get to work on a real-world project, so all that stuff you learned in organic chemistry, chemistry, biology, or whatever science course you might have taken is finally put to use. It’s one thing to study genetics and signaling pathways for a test and just forget it the next day, but it’s another thing to actually put it into practice.

Spring 2024

My name is Ava and I’m currently a junior at the University of Arizona. I have been a part of a VIP Team since my freshman year, called Integrated Climate Research: Ecology, Water, and Weather or, ICREWW). Being a part of this team has given me the opportunity to engage with both faculty and peers in diverse discipline, and being involved with this group since my freshman year has given me confidence in the world of research.

Spring 2024

My name is Brandolyn and I am a junior in the Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences major. ICREWW VIP has really helped me with my academic success. It has allowed me to present at conferences including the American Geophysical Union this past December, and I most likely wouldn’t have had that chance to do so if I wasn’t invited to this program. It has also made me much more self-confident. Not just in terms of my research, academics, and career, but also just in general when talking to people in my everyday life.

Spring 2024

The ICREWW VIP program provides me with the unique experience to learn from and work alongside graduate students and professors. The experience gained from this has been invaluable to me and propelled my academic career forward by leading to additional research positions and internship opportunities. The program has also provided me the ideal environment to explore my interests and get insight into how a career in research would look. Overall, the program helped orient me on an upward trajectory; I would highly recommend it!