​When I first came to UVM, there were tons of acronyms. From CAS (College of Arts and Sciences) to L&L (Living/Learning) to BB (Blackboard) to WE (Wellness Environment) there is no shortage of them but the acronyms that have given me the most rewarding and unique opportunity are LASP and the LSS program. LASP, or the Liberal Arts Scholars Program, is an opportunity to become a part of an academic and living community that have similar academic interests. This aids in a student's ability to find study partners and means you're constantly around individuals who understand the work you are doing. The LSS or Life Science Scholars program focuses on those with enough passion to dive deep into the science field with small class sizes and research motivated peers.

My experience was slightly different from most traditional LASP LSS students' experiences as I did not live in L&L; the centrally located suite style dorm where you live with a mix of LASP students. Instead I chose to live in a different learning community to be with a requested roommate. Even though I did not live with the LASP community, I still created invaluable connections with the other LSS students. Aside from having built in friends and study partners, our class became a familiar group and supportive network. For the introductory biology sequences, the LSS group had the privilege to study directly under the program coordinator Laura May-Collado, inside a small class limited to 48 students. This is a stark difference from the 200 person lectures that are standard for a large university. The relationship I built with Professor May-Collado over the biology sequence was extremely helpful during spring semester when the LSS were allowed to take her CURE course, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience. It offered me a first hand experience on what it is like to pursue research I was interested in, collaborate with others, and balance the other aspects of college. Our project focused on the effect of noise pollution on the health of marine communities. The vast library of data Professor May-Collado has amassed, allowed us to explore communities around Costa Rica. This gave us a lot of liberty to pursue any topic we were interested in and discover the answers for ourselves. The course provided an enriching, hands on learning opportunity to explore how research is conducted and conveyed . Even though my group was not able to present our findings in person due to the Spring 2020 semester shift to online learning, we were still able to share our work through an online conference and contribute to the larger UVM scientific community .

Although my experience in the LASP LSS program was untraditional, I highly value the experience and how it positively impacted my freshman year. This program presented a unique ability for students to become a part of a great community, build closer relationships with their professors, and learn what it really means to be in the scientific community doing research. Finally, a special thank you to Professor May-Collado for creating this opportunity and I wish the future LSS programs even more success.

​I joined the life science sector of LASP before I had any idea about what it was, or how much of an amazing opportunity it would become. All I knew was that I would be taking extra classes about my major and living with people who had the same interests as me. However, when I arrived at school, I realized that it was not only both of those things but also an amazing community full of people who understood what I wanted to do and who could support me through it.
            Being a life science major is a lot of work, it includes many late nights of studying and weekends with seven-hour study sessions. I was fortunate enough to not have to do these alone. By being in LSS, I lived with people who were taking a majority of my classes and that meant that whenever I had a question all I had to do was go next door and ask. It also means that you have a support system of people who understand when you complain about how the redox reactions don’t make sense, or that the chapter 7 quiz was too hard. LSS gives you people to laugh with, and cry with, but most importantly, people to walk to chem tests with.
           
With this program there are two class that you take. The first one is called Nobel Prize Winners. Each class you will discuss a different Nobel prize and the science behind it. Learning about these Nobel prizes game me so much respect for all of the scientists that made tremendous progress into what we know about our world and ourselves. That class taught me how to write more scientifically and to think scientifically. The next class we took was the CURE lab. CURE stands for course-based undergraduate research experience. This class gives you a chance to do independent (or group) research in a safe setting, knowing that you had support and help if you needed it. In this classes I researched toadfish mating calls that were recorded from off the coast of panama. Before this class I had never heard of a toadfish, let alone known what its mating call sounds like. But now I absolutely love to tell people about toadfish “boops”.  We used the soundscape program raven to analyze the soundscapes and count the boops. Learning about soundscapes is never something I thought I would be able to do, but now that I have, I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.
            If you have the chance to be a part of LSS, do it. It is not only academically, but socially (and you live in the best housing on campus). It will enhance your freshman year at UVM and prepare you for the next three years and whatever comes next.

​I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Life Science Scholars (LSS) program for my first year as a UVM student. We had similar schedules with the other people in our program, which gave us a glimpse of what it may be like to have scientific colleagues and partners. There was enough diversity in the program with students comprising zoology, neuroscience, and biological science majors.
In our fall semester, we took a class studying Nobel Prize scientists and the work they did to achieve their award. From covering topics of plant circadian rhythms to green fluorescent protein markers, there was always an excitement of what new topic we were going to dive into. To wrap up the class, we got to research and create a presentation on a Nobel laureate who we were interested in. I chose Charles Richet, who discovered anaphylaxis and its mechanisms.
However, in the spring semester, we became the researchers as a part of CURE, which stood for course-based undergraduate experience. We worked in small groups to work on different marine bioacoustic related projects. My group decided to research the whistle variation of pantropical spotted dolphins in different locations throughout Central America. In science, there are many issues that come up and learning how to deal with them is a key attribute of good scientists. The COVID-19 pandemic came in the middle of our data collection period. We had to communicate effectively and make the best of our situation. Fortunately, we were able to finish our project, but the whole experience taught me an essential lesson in the importance of adaptability and that science is far from linear.
The entire year of being in the LSS program taught me many things in relationships, research,  scientific writing, and helped me grow as a student at UVM. I would greatly recommend applying for LSS and the CURE course as you never know how much you can grow from one opportunity.