My name is Natalie Choo and I am from Cincinnati, OH. I am a senior at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA and I am pursuing a Neuroscience and Spanish double major. I also play center midfield for the Women’s Soccer Team at W&L. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, wake-boarding, skiing, and spending time with friends and family.
I developed a deep interest in Spanish just before my sophomore year of high school. That summer, I worked as a student-teacher in a kindergarten class and taught English to children in the Hispanic communities of Cincinnati. These kids were moving into their public school systems for 1st grade, so we spent the summer working on their English language skills as well as general fine-motor skills. I developed such a deep connection with the kids and fell in love with the language and the kids I got the opportunity to work it. Since then, I have had the pleasure of taking so many courses in the Spanish department and even spending a term in Seville, Spain.
Neuroscience only became a passion of mine when I came to Washington and Lee my freshman year. I had never taken any courses related to the field prior to college, but after my first neuroscience-related course I was captivated and wanted to study it more in depth. I was particularly fascinated by the topic of circadian biology and fortunately was given the opportunity to work in a research lab focused on circadian medicine the summer after my sophomore year. While at W&L, I also got the chance to work in Dr. Brindle’s circadian research lab and co-create a manual for sports teams to educate them on the importance of sleep help and foster inter-team conversations about how they could better their sleep as student-athletes.