Outstanding Seniors in the College of Science: Sun Woo Kim
This spring, each department in the University of Arizona's College of Science nominated an outstanding senior who went above and beyond during their time as a Wildcat. We are pleased to share their stories as they reflect on their time at UArizona. Our next Outstanding Senior is Sun Woo Kim in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Sun Woo Kim
Department: Molecular and Cellular Biology
College of Science: Why did you choose your area of study?
Kim: I first choose MCB and physiology unintentionally. I chose MCB because I loved my advisors and I chose physiology because all other pre-med students’ major was physiology. But now that I look back at my decisions, I’m grateful that I chose MCB and physiology because I have a wider understanding of our entire body from molecular level to organism level. I love MCB, especially because the basic sciences that I learned in MCB answered so many questions that I had for a very long time.
COS: Tell us about a class or research project you really enjoyed.
Kim: I really enjoyed my adolescent project in my research lab. We are longitudinally tracking the development of normal adolescents’ brains, behavior, and body development to find a causal relationship among them. We are focused in adolescence because our brain remodels during this period and after this remodeling, our brains are not as plastic as before. Our project can explain the upheaval pubertal period of our lives. Personally, I'm fascinated by this because I moved to the US at the start of adolescence. I’m curious about how that might have influenced my neural circuitry.
COS: What is one specific memory from your time at UA that you'll cherish forever?
Kim: It’s not one specific memory, but I will forever remember the different moments when my friends and I chanted “Holy Spirit Activate” (starting around 2:00, not for religious reasons). Whenever any of us were submitting something important such as a final project, medical school application, or MCAT scores, we chanted this song to wish for good luck. While it may seem like an immature college student’s ritual in hindsight, my friend group who did this together will last forever.
COS: What is next for you after graduation?
Kim: I was really fortunate to get accepted into the Honors Early Assurance Program (HEAP) at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson! I will be pursuing my MD degree at UA COM-T.