Student Perspective: Tiana LaFollette
By Gary Hyatt, WSU Honors College, gary.hyatt1@wsu.edu
Name: Tiana LaFollette
Year: Second Year
Hometown: Zillah WA
Major: Dual-Degree Neuroscience (Pre-Med), Psychology
Minors: N/A
How has The Honors College impacted your time at WSU?
The Honors College has been such a huge influence of my time at WSU. Some specific times are the welcoming advising of the staff, but also the financial help! I was so graciously given funding by the Honors College to stay and conduct research over the summer! Without this financial help I wouldn’t have been able to stay in Pullman and get as far in my research as I was able to do.
Most impactful Involvement/Leadership/Research you have engaged in and what each entail:
The most impactful research I have been engaged in is my labs current research! I am currently working on two different projects: one with a graduate student and one all by myself! The work with the graduate student is looking at insulins effect of synaptogenesis within the CA1 Region of the hippocampus. With this research I have presented at both a local and national conference and have won a presentation award. With my own current project, I am working on Kappa Opioids Receptors and Opioid Like Protein Receptors and how they work with other APJ-Receptors within the CA1 Region of the hippocampus!
Career Goal/ Future education plans:
My future plans are to continue education in getting my MD/Ph.D.! My dream career is a pediatric neurologist working on children and conduct clinical research regarding the children I see!
Favorite Honors Course and why?
My favorite Honors Course was Honors 298! This was a global-leadership section of Honors where we looked at problems and issues across the whole world opposed to just looking at problems within the country. This course was great because it really opened my eyes to other worldly problems, but it was also great as we got to meet many influential people and see their hard work that they have done across the globe.
Advice for an incoming Honors student?
My advice would be, “say yes to everything till you have to say no to somethings”. I say this because coming into college, it can be so scary to be involved in anything and you may want to be particular about what you want to be involved in, but the more you say yes to certain things, the more opportunities you may have never thought of show up!
Have you ever received financial support from the Honors College? If so, how did that impact your academic journey?
Yes! As mentioned, before I received funding over the summertime and it allowed me to work on my research projects and get them prepared for national conferences!
Lastly, what are some things outside of your academic journey you enjoy doing?
Some things outside of my academic journey I enjoy is being a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) at Gritman Medical Center on the Medical/Surgery Unit! I also enjoy going to The Land every Monday for trivia with my friends and having a good time (with some good food!)