I AM UAA: Theresa Cho

Biology, Class of 2014
Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska
Fun Fact: Writes and composes her own music and sings in her church choir

When Theresa Cho came to UAA as a freshman and UA Scholar from East Anchorage High School in 2008, she lauded Freshman Convocation and Campus Kickoff as events that made a positive difference in her level of confidence upon embarking on her college career. This year, as a senior in the University Honors College, Theresa will be up at the podium, passing this confidence on to the incoming Class of 2016.

"I felt like I was miles ahead and gained some valuable information that I would've never known if it wasn't for the people and students I met at these events," Theresa said back in 2009, a first generation college student and daughter of immigrant parents from the Philippines. Talking to her now, she says, "I have found that UAA is a great place to be guided and fostered. I'm really excited about talking to other students about their great decision to come to UAA. It really is a great place to be, grow and learn."

It's fun to see how far Theresa has come in her time at UAA. And she certainly doesn't let many opportunities pass her by. From a student position in the Office of Sustainability to clubs and community service to undergraduate research, Theresa has experienced it all.

Work-wise, Theresa started off her college career as a paralegal in the Law Office of Kneeland Taylor, even taking a semester off to work full-time during her junior year at UAA when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Nevertheless, before that break, she was working upwards of 30 hours a week on top of a full load at school. And although she loved her three years working at the law office, with more experience, it ended up being too much to balance. Now she's been working in UAA's Office of Sustainability for the last year and loves the different community and research projects she gets to be involved in, from their annual campus clothing drive to helping coordinate UAA's presence in Anchorage's annual Bike to Work Day.

On top of work, Theresa is involved with the Newman Club (a small Catholic club on campus) and the UAA Architecture and Engineering Club (AE Club). In fact, she just returned from a trip to New Orleans with the AE Club where they partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help build homes for people impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Let's nevermind that she's never really done any carpentry before. She's a self-proclaimed newbie-but a newbie with a lot of enthusiasm to try new things.

"What I really appreciate is humanity and working with people," Theresa says. "I love doing community work; it's such a rewarding experience for me."

Theresa's research has spanned from microbiology to sustainability. She won an honorable mention at the 2011 Alaska Regional Conference of the American Society of Microbiology for her work with the antibiotic pyocyanin, and she's in the second phase of her senior thesis that incorporates an experiment in recycling.

"With the help of exceptional UAA advisors, I have achieved so much here-more than I thought I would," she says, noting that both her biggest accomplishment and biggest challenge have been balancing her academics with her extracurricular activities. "I'm really excited about taking on the future."

And the future for Theresa is medical school. Her biology degree will position her well, and she's already shadowed a few pediatric doctors in Anchorage to see what field of medicine she might be interested in. She's even considering UAA's WWAMI School of Medicine as a viable option for graduate school.

"Medicine has always been a deep interest of mine, and science is something that I've always just been good at," Theresa says.

Preparing to take the stage for this fall's Freshman Convocation, Theresa hopes the incoming class comes ready to sponge up both information and inspiration. And with her younger brother joining her at UAA this year as a freshman, her speech will be that much more significant.

A little prelude to the advice Theresa might include in her speech is "first and foremost, students need to take care of themselves, because without a healthy mind and a healthy body, it's hard to achieve anything."

So, heads up, freshmen. It's not just talk. Theresa leads by example.