Jasmine Hawkins

Honors 100 AF
October 12, 2015
Assignment 1: Who Are You?
How did you get here? What was your personal path to the UW and to Honors?
What do you hope to learn and explore with your time at UW? Where do you want
to go from here? Share your thoughts in a 1-page, single-spaced reflection.
Originally, attending the University of Washington was my last choice. I always
thought that I was intended for the ivy leagues or some far off college. When I
applied to the UW, I discovered the Honors program. At first, I felt skeptical about
the program. Yet, when I learned about its emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, I
thought it could be a great match for me.
Through the entire college application process, I had my eyes on other schools and
the opportunity to live in an unfamiliar place. The reason being that I wanted to go
somewhere that would force me out of my comfort zone, and ultimately foster
maturity. When acceptance letters came around in the spring, I had only been
accepted into 3 of my 9 schools.
One of the reasons I decided to attend UW was the speech I heard from Vicky
Lawson during my honors information session. Other reasons included being
admitted into the bioengineering major, receiving a scholarship from Space Grant,
and my financial situation. I wasnt extremely content with my decision at first
because I had rejected an offer to live in New York at Barnard College. However,
coming to UW has opened my eyes to realizing that attending this university was
actually a hidden blessing in disguise.
During my undergraduate experience at UW, I hope to accomplish a few of the
following: First, I would like to find a community of people to call my friends.
Second, I want to discover a major that will teach me the skills necessary to finding
a career that will be financially stable and bring me personal fulfillment. Third, I
would like to discover new activities that arent in my comfort zone.
Since I am currently a bioengineering major, I hope to explore this major and
discover if I want to dedicate my life to a profession in the world of healthcare. I
would also like to study abroad with the hope of using my bioengineering skills to
aid in a developing country. In addition, I am curious to learn about international
relations and hopefully take a class in this major because I am passionate about
global issues such as womens rights, education, and region stability, particularly
in the Middle East. I hope that Honors will give me the opportunity to take classes
with a focus on global issues outside of the requirements in my core STEM courses.
4 or even 5 years from now, I would like to graduate with a BS in bioengineering,
and maybe even a BA in international relations. From what I have learned about

careers for bioengineers, the main split is between pursuing further education and
conducting research, or working in industry. I hope that I can use both my
interdisciplinary Honors knowledge and bioengineering skills to work in a company
that serves abroad, or a non-profit organization. I want to use my knowledge in
mathematics and science to help people, and Im hoping a bioengineering degree
will allow me to do that.