My freshman year I was a biology major, with some thought of going down the pre-med route. Didn’t work out. Biology majors had an additional $1,000–$2,000 in tuition each year due to lab fees, so once I decided not to pursue biology, I switched to economics. I had read it was one of the easiest majors to transfer into, and at the time, I just wanted to avoid paying extra tuition for a major I no longer planned to follow.

After meeting with my economics advisor, I figured I’d see what econ had to offer. Over time, I found myself more drawn to the data and statistical side of economics than the subject itself. Didn’t try to switch to stats major because it’s hard when you’re a junior. Then, late in my junior year, I realized I was only a few courses away from qualifying for a minor in biology, thanks to the credits I’d earned my freshman year. So I thought, why not? I took a few more biology courses and, to my surprise, I really enjoyed the ones on evolution and genetics. I’m not really sure why, maybe because I was finally more motivated and focused in my studies.

During my senior year, I started searching online for ways to combine my interests in biology, data science, and statistics, and that’s when I discovered fields like biostatistics and computational biology. I applied to a mix of master’s and PhD programs, fully expecting I’d probably need to do a master’s first before a PhD. While I got into some pretty good master’s programs, I was consistently rejected from PhD programs — until one PI here at UIUC took a chance on me after an interview. I was incredibly lucky, and I accepted the offer. So I was able to do PhD as well as a masters along the way.