When I arrived at Brown University, I was as excited as I was anxious. But I soon realised that this was one of the best decisions I had ever made. The university follows the open curriculum approach where there are no set requirements for students. The freedom to take the classes one wants ensures that when students walk into a classroom, they want to be there and this makes it a refreshing learning environment. The studies are rigorous and challenging, requiring constant diligence.The campus is beautiful. Changing seasons make every day exciting. I keep discovering new, hidden places for studying or taking a nap. The experience of having so much academic and personal freedom can be amazing, but, at the same time, overwhelming. There are plenty of resources and people to help. The student body is incredibly diverse — I have met people from all over the world and discovered different ways of looking at life. People here are passionate and driven, and, more importantly, welcoming and supportive. I am part of many campus groups, one of them being a cappella group.
The faculty members are equally amazing. They love to interact with and support students. The Residential Peer Leaders live with first-year students and their primary job is to make new students feel at home. In addition to orientation, there is an international orientation event. You also get a faculty member and an upperclassman student as personal advisors to help you through the first year and beyond.
At the end of the second year at Brown, you have to decide what area of study you want to ‘‘concentrate’’ in. At other schools, it is called a major. At Brown, it is called a concentration.
Over my first two years, I went through various phases and wanted to concentrate in various departments — neuroscience, science and society, cognitive science, anthropology, music, and so on. But I realised that I kept getting drawn to the first class I took here at Brown — immunology. It involves studying how pathogens cause disease and how the body’s immune system fights them. So I decided to concentrate in Immunobiology ScB.
I love this programme because it exposes me to different subjects — chemistry, some physics, and of course, biology. Thanks to the flexibility of the programme, I can also take some non-science classes.
I have been a teaching assistant for Principles of Immunology for over three years now. I am also a teaching assistant for an advanced biology class called Development of Vaccines to Infectious Disease. As a teaching assistant, it is an incredibly rewarding experience to help fellow students.
Under the ScB programme, I will get a Bachelor of Science diploma. I also need to partake in scientific research in a laboratory.
I work in a lab that works on pulmonary fibrosis, a devastating lung disease, whose cause and cure are unknown. I am actually generating new scientific knowledge which may someday get published.
Brown is atop College Hill, overlooking the city of Providence. It is smaller compared to other cities in the U.S., but I love it that way. It is intimate and I have come to love it and call it home. Through volunteering at the hospitals and working to end homelessness in Providence, I have come to know it better.
But every time I venture out, I discover something new.
It has been an incredible journey and one that will take me to more adventures in the future.
The writer is pursuing ImmunoBiology ScB at Brown University, U.S.
