From Olympia, Washington, Jorge Flores is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in psychology. When he graduates this spring, he has his eyes set on pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience.
How has WSU prepared you for your future?
WSU has given me the opportunity to not only learn in the classroom but also gain valuable research and teaching experience, which will be useful as my next step is a PhD in neuroscience. WSU has also allowed me to have great mentors who have guided me on my undergraduate journey.
What’s your favorite thing about WSU?
The people are definitely my favorite. Everyone has always been kind and welcoming and it is easy to feel like you belong here. Even when I was just getting started with research or my first time being a TA, I was always welcomed and was able to get help when I needed it. Cougs help Cougs is real and you definitely feel it here.
What’s your favorite course you’ve taken at WSU?
My favorite major course has been NeuroSci 305 with Dr. Delevich. It is called Neurons, Genes, and Behavior and it’s a behavioral neuroscience class. It was really interesting to learn about the brain processes behind why we do certain things we do and some of the animal models we use to learn more about them. It is also the class that led me to want to pursue a PhD in neuroscience as I found behavior really interesting and have since wanted to become a behavioral neuroscientist.
My favorite non-major class has been Music 262 with Dr. Miller. It is called Rock Music: History and Social Analysis. It was a really fun class where we talked about rock ‘n’ roll and got to listen to music and its history. It was a low stress class, and it was really interesting to dive into the history behind the music and understand the music industry a bit better.
Do you have a job or work in a lab?
I am a TA and I work in a lab. I am a Biology 107 lab TA where I assist a graduate TA in teaching the bacteriophage hunting lab. It is the fourth semester I have taught this lab so it is something I know quite well. I also work in the Driskell Skin Lab in BLS. I am part of two projects, one where an AI is being built to detect and quantify hair samples, while the other is a collagen quantification project, which is a more independent project.
What’s one of your favorite things hobbies?
I enjoy watching and playing sports. I am always at WSU football games or volleyball games on the front row. I also enjoy playing soccer, and I play with a local group off campus.
What’s a unique fun fact about you?
I am really into motorsports, which got me into playing the Formula 1 game on the XBox. I held the world record for the fastest lap on two of the tracks in the F1 2021 game.