Anne-Chloe Olix
Joined ESS in Graduating in Winter 2020
Contact: [javascript protected email address]
Role: Undergraduate
Undergraduate Program: ESS Biology
Hometown: Woodinville, WA
Favorite Class: ESS 421 Intro to GIS with Steven Walters, or ESS 313 Geobiology with Drew Gorman-Lewis
Favorite Spot: The backside of the south campus center, right on the water.
How did you "land" in ESS?
After getting through the “weed out” introductory classes and struggling through two years of microbiology, I started looking for a program that would allow me to continue my biology studies outside of the department I was in. I wanted to be able to continue examining the impacts of microbes on humans, and ESS allowed me to examine that on the largest scale. I wandered in and talked to Meghan and realized that ESS was going to be the best fit for me.
What is something that you surprised you about our community?
Time and time again I am surprised by how kind and uplifting ESS students, faculty, and staff are. There is a much stronger sense of community than I had previously experienced at UW.
What has been your favorite part of the ESS department so far?
There are so many things to love about the department. My favorite part is the sense of community and the kindness and understanding of professors and advisors.
What are your future plans?
I will be taking a year off to travel and re-examine the world around me from a different perspective. Then I will be sitting for the MCAT or GRE. I hope to spend some time studying microbial life currently trapped within glaciers and in the permafrost, and what impacts they may have on humanity as everything continues to thaw. I intend to continue on to medical school afterwards.
Do you have any advice for new ESS community members?
Take the class you’re looking at, but don’t quite need. Talk to the professor after class, and take any opportunity that lands in your lap.