Shi Min Tan

Academics

• College of Veterinary Medicine, Honors College
• Neuroscience
• Pullman, Washington

Involvement

Research on cocaine addiction and memory reconsolidation in the Fuchs lab, including running her own project; collected data in colon-rectal cancer screening project; author or co-author on several journal articles and conference presentations; shadowed clinicians; served as a chief research associate for the National Alliance of Research Associates Program and recruited, organized and trained associates; held multiple offices in the WSU Neuroscience Club; recipient of numerous scholarships; speaks three languages fluently and Spanish at an intermediate level; plays violin in the WSU orchestra.

Favorite WSU experience

In my immediate family, I’m a first-generation college student—it was a little scary, because I didn’t know what I was doing!

It was a shock to to win Top Ten Senior. There are a lot of amazing people here! I was fortunate to be able to do research in the neuroscience department. I started out as a freshman without really knowing where I was going with it but by my senior year, I had my own project that became part of my honor’s thesis. Besides being a STEM student, I really enjoyed playing violin in the symphonic orchestra. That was a big stress reliever for me, as I was able to do something outside of science and also feed my passion for music.

Coming in freshman year, I knew I wanted to do study abroad—but the price tag was pretty high. But through my department and the Honors College I was able to get funding to go to Guatemala, serving with the Hearts in Motion program and providing medical support to the people there. This past summer, I was a recipient of a Gilman Scholarship which enabled me to travel to Costa Rica to study Spanish. One of my goals is to be fluent in Spanish as a healthcare provider.

Future plans

I’ve been admitted to the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, so will be starting that next fall. I love the state of Washington and am hoping to stay here—but it depends on where life takes me and where opportunities open up.