A Passion for Research: Lara Brown ’22

Members of the class of 2022 bring strong academic records, leadership skills and a diversity of experiences to Smith.

This year’s entering 632 new students were selected from a pool of 5,780 applicants—the largest in Smith’s history. An additional 71 transfer and non-traditional aged students will be unpacking their bags and attending orientation sessions beginning Friday, Aug. 31.

In this, the second in our series of profiles of incoming students, Lara Brown ’22—a first-year STRIDE scholar—describes how she discovered her love for biology.

Home is

Bloomfield, New Jersey

Why I chose Smith

While I had some fantastic experiences with STEM in high school, I also had a couple of negative encounters that led a friend and me to start a Girls Who Code chapter to create space for women in our school to learn more about computer science. Being a member of Girls Who Code made me realize I wanted to be in a different environment for the next few years—I realized I wanted to attend a women’s college. I was drawn to Smith in particular because of its warm community and unique programs.

Current project

I’m interning at an architectural firm in New York City. My main interest is in biology, and in past summers, I’ve done research. But I’m also interested in urban planning and architecture, so I went for the internship. It’s been really interesting. I’m also learning it’s not the field for me. I do want to take some architecture classes at Smith in the fall. That’s something I’m looking forward to.

Abiding passion

The summer between 9^th and 10^th grades, I attended a weeklong program at Georgetown University that was an introduction to medical careers. One day we got to go to the cadaver lab—not something I ever thought I’d do. Just being there and seeing the cadavers, understanding that this was a life that’s now been given to research, was very humbling. That’s what got me interested in biology. I spent the following two summers conducting research in different labs and getting to appreciate more about the behind-the-scenes of biology.

What I’m looking forward to the most about my first semester

So much! I want to take classes in fields that I don’t know anything about. I’m also looking forward to doing research and lab work. I’m just excited to get to campus and meet everyone.

Lara Brown ’22 injects bacteria into cucumber leaves to make them glow during a summer research assignment.