Collecting connections

Brice has never felt bound to one path. She always wanted to experience it all, to seize every opportunity available to her — to try the things that scare her.

“It is such a privilege to be a student,” she said, “and I feel like I’m doing a disservice to that privilege if I’m not challenging myself.”

Brice spent her undergraduate years at the UW doing just that.

After entering the University following her sophomore year in high school through the Robinson Center, Brice worked toward two degrees: one in medical anthropology and global health and one in biology.

Outside of the classroom, Brice stayed involved. Along with her experience as FIG leader, she worked in Undergraduate Academic Advising as a peer adviser. She tied everything together for her leadership portfolio for the Husky Leadership Certificate, a program housed in the Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center.

But, in the middle of her fourth year, Brice was forced to slow down and focus on her health. She became a part-time student, completing most of her coursework from bed while leaning on her UW professors, Honors anthropology thesis advisers and family.

A year later, Brice was back as a full-time student and preparing to graduate with two degrees, College Honors — the highest distinction in the Honors Program — and a collection of academic experiences.

Through it all, she remained curious, joyful and committed to making the most of her Husky Experience.

During the first few quarters of college, Brice struggled to speak in front of a class, and she felt anxious or uncomfortable in many spaces.

Still, Brice slowly started to become more confident in herself. After her first few quarters she applied to be a FIG Leader, a role that supports first-year and transfer students during their transition into the University. By her second year, Brice was leading new students in classrooms and during orientation, positions she kept for three years.

During the summers, she worked as a counselor at Camp Korey, a camp for kids with life-altering medical diagnoses. There, she leaned into her silly side and found a way to connect with kids who may struggle to connect in other spaces.

All of these experiences helped her see her own leadership capabilities and gave her the confidence that she now carries throughout her work.

“My leadership style is just being myself, as a human, but also finding ways to uplift others and center their ideas,” she said.

Brice picked at the boxes of bones in front of her, comparing the sizes of tibias, ribs and vertebrae.

She took a calliper and lined it up to a femur, so thin it could crack with a small amount of pressure. She input her measurements into a computer.

These bones once belonged to a tiny pika, a small mammal that lives in the mountains of western North America. They now live in a box in the Burke Museum’s collection and are used by researchers to study how these animals lived and evolved.

During her undergraduate years, Brice spent many hours at this long table on the second floor of the Burke, surrounded by birds awaiting stuffing and skeletons awaiting measurements.

This type of research wasn’t what Brice thought she would be doing in her undergraduate years, but Chris Law, an acting instructor in the Department of Biology, asked Brice to work on his research studying rabbit, hare and pika skeletons. Brice became immediately interested and eventually expanded her mammal research through a class about preparing birds for display in the Burke Museum.

Both of these were different types of research for Brice, who spent so much of her time thinking about humans, their health and how they interact with the world.

For her Honors anthropology thesis, Brice researched the lived experiences of autistic young people, a topic that was personal for her after receiving an autism diagnosis while in college. Brice needed to complete requirements for both Interdisciplinary Honors and Departmental Honors to receive the College Honors distinction, which recognizes students’ achievement in integrating learning and a deep exploration of their major.

As part of her research, Brice asked the research participants to keep photo diaries throughout their days in an attempt to highlight how young adults with autism think about friendships and identity. Some submitted photos of empty classrooms where the participant showed up early to ease the transition time before class. Others highlighted tools like earplugs, which can help with sensory concerns.

Being able to research that experience in other people allowed her to explore her own journey toward acceptance, Brice said.

Brice presented her findings at this year’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, a process that helped her realize she wants to continue doing research for the rest of her career.

“I came into school thinking I wanted to go to medical school immediately after undergrad, but now I think having a research background will allow me to make more change,” said Brice, who will serve as the Office of Undergraduate Research’s graduate student assistant next academic year while completing her master’s degree in public health.

Long-term, Brice’s goal is to make healthcare more accessible for people with intellectual disabilities, particularly those on the autism spectrum.

Researching both humans and animals taught Brice the importance of interdisciplinary and co-curricular learning — where qualitative and quantitative research, classes, leadership education and extracurriculars, and all parts of a student’s education work together.

She leaned into that idea for her Honors portfolio and her Husky Leadership Certificate, where she was able to reflect on all parts of her educational journey.

Through this work, Brice found ways to connect all the dots in the museum of her undergraduate experience — biologist, researcher, camp counselor, peer adviser. The glue that holds it altogether: Brice’s desire to always be challenging herself.

“Being a little scared and a little uncomfortable is important,” Brice said. “I’ve done a lot of things in undergrad that made me a little uncomfortable in the best way.”

Brice stood on the terrace of the Hans Rosling Center Population Health building and stared at the Seattle skyline ahead of her.

This is one of her favorite spots on campus. It’s also where, in a few months, she’ll begin her time as a graduate student.

When Brice dropped organic chemistry and became a part-time student last year, she had no idea what her future might look like.

A little over a year later, Brice was preparing for a week of graduation ceremonies and a summer trip to Uganda where she’ll research adding autism screenings into routine vaccination schedules.

Dropping chemistry and becoming a part-time student actually taught her one of the most valuable lessons from her undergraduate years. Being resilient isn’t just working to your limits, Brice realized. It’s also about knowing when to slow down.

“Realizing that is just as important as pushing yourself to do hard things,” Brice said.

When she looks back on her undergraduate years, Brice doesn’t think she’ll focus on the difficult parts, like the health challenges or the dropped classes or the stressful quarters where she did too much.

Instead, she’ll remember the joy and how every piece of her Husky Experience shaped her into who she is today.

“There are things that were hard, there are things that were challenging,” Brice said. “But that doesn’t mean that there’s not so much beauty and excitement and joy there, too.”

For Brice, reconnecting with that joy often starts with a pair of headphones, her favorite song of the moment and a dance.

On top of the population health building on a sunny June day, Brice closed her eyes, pressed play on one of her favorite songs — “Sunroof” by Nicky Youre and dazy, smiled and prepared to dance into her next chapter.

La da la da di da

I got my head out the sunroof

I’m blasting my favorite tune