Fall 2023 exCITE Talks
Ten students participated in the Fall 2023 final round of exCITE Talks on September 18. Students presented their experience with internships, learning abroad, service learning, and undergraduate research. Their presentations demonstrated the high impact of experiential learning on academic and personal growth.
Watch the Prize Winners
Rosemarie Le, an Honors Biomedical Sciences major with a minor in Medicine and Society, took home First Prize. She explored the theme of work-life balance and stress management in her talk, "The Tale of Two Cultures." Drawing from her internship at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, she highlighted the contrasting approaches to these issues in Swiss and American cultures, emphasizing the value of self-care and balance in achieving success.
Daniella Castillo Sabido, a UH Harris Fellow came in second place. She served as a community liaison in the office of Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia, aiding families in locating programs aimed at averting evictions and other hardships.
Arushi Dheer, a Biology major, came in third place, harnessed her passion for art to forge connections with patients and their families during their hospital stays.
Paul Daniel, a Biology major, took home the People’s Choice Award. He highlighted the substantial impact of his peers' positive outlook on his own experience and expressed a desire to emulate them while researching stem cell and cellular therapy.
exCITE Talks Finalists
- Adolfo Salazar Mendoza, a junior double majoring in Biotechnology and Philosophy, explored the intersection of medicine and humanistic themes as a FrameWorks fellow, shedding light on underrepresented perspectives in healthcare.
- Alex Valero, a junior in Civil Engineering, shared his transformative Learning Abroad experience in the Netherlands, exploring civil engineering innovations.
- Annan Khan, a senior in Environmental Science, highlighted his co-curricular experience in the NASA Student Airborne Research Program with a focus on his experience of imposter syndrome and how he overcame this challenge by sharing his concerns with his peers and supervisor and discovering that they had similar worries.
- Danielle Henry, a senior Biology major, explained about how she conducted research on LtxA for potential leukemia and lymphoma therapy, aligning with her academic goals and plan to pursue a career as an physician's assistant.
- Mielad Ziaee, a junior majoring in Psychology, discussed how he conducted research as a Center for Disease Control and Prevention John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholar, developing a food insecurity prediction model and demo-AI.
- Miranda Ruzinsky, a senior double majoring in Spanish and History, described how she honed her skills as a public historian through an internship with Houston History magazine, contributing to the project on 100 Years of Stories.