Education is one of the four pillars of UNMC’s mission and our students are the lifeblood of that aspect of campus life. In UNMC Today’s Student Spotlight, we get to know some of these students, who will become tomorrow’s health care professionals.
Today we meet:
- Name: Ariel Burns
- Hometown: Kansas City, Kansas
- Program/Year: Ph.D. candidate in pharmacology and experimental neuroscience, fifth year
List three songs on your playlist.
- “Mine Would Be You,” by Blake Shelton
- “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” by Donnell Jones (originally by Stevie Wonder)
- “I Don’t Care,” by Fall Out Boy
How did you fall in love with science?
I always enjoyed the science field, as far back as elementary school. For most of middle school, I wanted to be a paleontologist but then realized I didn’t want to dig fossils in the extreme heat. But finally, I knew I loved science when I was in college and helping another student with her biology course. She said I explained it better than her professor. At that point, I didn’t want anyone to feel that science was difficult. I didn’t want people to misunderstand how interesting science can be because it wasn’t conveyed in a way that everyone can learn and appreciate it. That’s what I try to be as a scientist — someone who can interpret research and effectively communicate the message to benefit and prosper all individuals and/or society.
Your favorite study snack is:
Grapes.
Your favorite app is:
Zedge (Free and best app for games, wallpapers, ringtones, and notification in one place!!!)
Three things people may not know about you.
- I’m pretty good at and love to country line dance and swing dance (both West and East Coast swing).
- I chose the pharmacology and experimental neuroscience program at UNMC to build a strong foundation in neuroscience for a career to study multiple sclerosis because my uncle suffers severely from the disease.
- I am the first in my family to go to a post baccalaureate program and second to graduate college. My mother was the first but was a non-traditional student.