Finding Their Place

To celebrate this year's graduates from the College of Arts & Sciences, student staff in Dean's Office reached out to four graduating seniors, asking what place on campus defined their Husky Experience. Here's what the graduating seniors shared with them.

Kisho Fukuoka

The place: The Health Sciences Building

“Here I took my most challenging classes, which deepened my relationship with my faculty and peers.”

After experiencing a neurological disorder with an unknown cause, Kisho, who majored in neuroscience, was motivated to get involved in undergraduate research about how the brain works — a journey that would eventually lead him to apply to medical school.

Typically only graduate and PhD students take classes in the Health Sciences Building, but Kisho had the opportunity to study there his freshman year. At first, he felt intimidated by the high-level research going on in the building. But now, after hours spent in the labs and building strong relationships with classmates and faculty, he considers the Health Sciences Building a second home.

Aleezah Ali

The place: The UW Planetarium

"Here I spent countless hours getting in touch with what I love to do."

What excites physics and astronomy major Aleezah most about the field is learning the many tools and methods that researchers use to collect data. “It’s insane the lengths that you can go to to learn about the universe,” she says.

The planetarium became an integral part of Aleezah’s Husky experience the minute she first walked in. “Spending time here reminds me what all my hard work is ultimately tied to,” she says. “Sometimes my friends and I reserve it to do homework so we can visualize the very stars and galaxies we are learning about."

Aegron Ethen

The place: Denny Hall

"Here I discovered where I wanted to go."

“The thing that excites me the most is the sense of discovery and that I'm trying to figure out something that we almost lost the knowledge of," says Aegron, who majored in archaeological sciences. "The idea that we are just filling in gaps of knowledge is one of the most exciting parts to me.”

Denny Hall is home to the Department of Anthropology and is where Aegron has spent countless hours studying, taking classes, and volunteering with graduate research. “I think that there is a beautiful meaning to Denny being the oldest building on campus and me being an archaeology major who specifically studies old buildings," Aegron says. "It’s a nice little coincidence.”

Bryan Nakata

The place: The Communications Building

“Here I learned how to succeed.”

“I’m passionate about spreading knowledge and giving people voice through tangible stories that have an impact,” says Bryan, a journalism major in the Department of Communication.

The major is housed in the Communications Building, where Bryan found a supportive community through taking the popular Journalism Series and developing relationships with professors and advisors. “Everybody in the Comm Building is not just there for you as a student,” says Bryan. “They’re there for you as a person.”

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To see how our students developed this story as an Instagram series, visit the College of Arts & Sciences on Instagram.