Finding the Right Path
Recently graduated transfer student Gabriel Landau, ’25, found his stride with UW outreach services and research.
When Gabriel Landau, ’25, visited the Port of Edmonds for a UW invertebrate zoology class, he had no idea what was in store.
Then he spotted and held a soft-bodied, see-through marine slug, what Landau calls “a charismatic invertebrate,” for the first time. With this novel find, Landau knew that his decision to transfer from South Seattle College to the University of Washington had been the right choice. At the UW, he saw even more opportunities to explore his interests.
Moments like that one helped define the biology major from Seattle’s time at the UW, from a busy start as a transfer student to another first, an educational excursion around Padilla Bay — one of the largest eelgrass meadows in the U.S.
“My first year was kind of overwhelming,” admits Landau, who came to the UW with an eye toward medical school. He especially struggled with “adjusting to so many opportunities, people and stuff going on.”
But Landau found programs at the UW to help. One that assisted him even before his admission was Path to UW. Path to UW’s goal is to help future Huskies like Landau access a world-class education by navigating the transfer process to the UW. The program currently partners with the Seattle Colleges through Seattle Promise, as well as with Bellevue College and Highline College.
Students in the program benefit from outreach services that include admission advising, tailored events and seminars. For Landau, Path to UW set him up for success by helping him better understand the application process and how to best highlight his strengths.
And the support continued once he successfully transferred to the UW. A summer transition program connected him directly with UW faculty and resources and prepared him for writing at the University. Once he got to campus, Path to UW also introduced Landau to a community of other transfer students through mixers and workshops — all of which helped him feel more at home.
Landau also found a dedicated space at the Commuter and Transfer Commons (CTC), a room in the HUB that Path to UW highlights for all incoming transfer students. Landau utilized the CTC, especially during his first quarter, to print materials, meet friends and eat lunch.
While Path to UW helped Landau orient himself as a Husky, connecting with other students shaped his path in an unexpected way.
For Landau, who thought he was going to medical school, talking to a student at an undergraduate research symposium who was researching algal communities changed his life.
He began researching fruit flies at the Vásquez Lab, which studies cells and the complex molecular rules they use to build and shape organs.
In the spring of 2025, Landau got the opportunity to take classes at UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, thanks to a Mary Gates Research Scholarship.
Friday Harbor Laboratory is a 490-acre world-renowned research and education facility in the San Juan Islands.
Landau took several classes that met at the UW Biology Greenhouse, one of his favorite places on campus.
That was his first experience living in a dorm and eating in a dining hall, and Landau says he’s still really close with his cohort from the island. He took three courses at Friday Harbor: Marine Mammals of the Salish Sea, Professional Portfolio in Marine Science and Marine Restoration Ecology.
Friday Harbor challenged Landau with its project-based instruction. “You’re working closely with your professor. It was a very different environment from the Seattle campus,” Landau says. “But it really was such a positive experience.”
Another positive experience took place in the evenings, after classes, when Landau would take rowboats out from the boathouse and explore the island. An avid birder, Landau would also search for birds, often while biking.
Through his research experiences, Landau realized that research would be more personally fulfilling than medical school. And he stuck with that research until graduating last June.
At the moment, Landau is taking some time off before applying to graduate school — advice he got from graduate students.
To new Huskies, Landau has this to say: “Push yourself. Not just academically but socially too. Building lasting relationships and trying new (and scary) things can feel just as rewarding as passing a hard class.”
“Push yourself. Not just academically but socially too. Building lasting relationships and trying new (and scary) things can feel just as rewarding as passing a hard class.”
The new UW Transfer Center officially opened in Mary Gates Hall in the fall of 2025
Located in Suite 141, the transfer center offers community, connection and resources for UW transfer students. Resources include student ambassador mentorships with fellow transfer students, events for academic support and campus services, as well as the benefit of being steps away from academic advisers.
Story by Lincoln McElwee // Photos by Dennis Wise and courtesy of Gabriel Landau
Originally published February 2026
