Hi everyone, my name is Rujuta, and I am a senior majoring in MCB Honors! I am from Bangalore in India, so I have experienced the process of transitioning into college from a different country. I will be happy to give advice on making this transition easier! I am on the pre-medical track. Outside of class, you would mostly find me conducting research in Dr Huanyu Qiao's lab at the College of Veterinary Medicine. I am working on a project that studies the mRNA expression of oocytes at different stages of development. I also volunteer at the Avicenna Community Health Center and Carle Foundation Hospital. I am a member of the Avicenna Student Initiative RSO and enjoy taking part in fundraising events for the free clinic! Apart from this, I have been a biology peer advisor for a year and enjoy meeting new students. My hobbies include playing tennis, singing, and trying new recipes with my friends! Freshman year brings its fair share of changes - living independently, finding like-minded friends, balancing between classes, extra-curriculars, fun activities, and so on. Feel free to reach out for any questions on classes, RSOs, things to explore in UIUC or even college life in general!