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From the College of Natural Sciences
Gratitude and Your Brain
Dear Students,I hope your registration went well, and you're feeling good heading into Thanksgiving break. Hopefully, next week will bring you some time to decompress, connect with family or friends and do something restorative. If you're looking for something restorative, I have a suggestion.We usually think of giving thanks as something we do for...First-Gen Week
Dear Students,This week UT is celebrating our first-gen students. These are students who will be the first in their family to complete a college degree. UT has over 9,000 first-gen students. And first-gen Longhorns are not just students. Some of our most influential and beloved faculty and staff are first-gen, too! These include Dr. Jason McLellan,...Venture into the Safe-Scary
Dear Students,Recently, a local reporter wanted to talk to me as a neuroscientist who studies fear for a Halloween story he was preparing. "Why do we like to scare ourselves?" he asked. This question is relevant to our lives here in CNS.We usually think of fear as a feeling—the distinctive experience of being afraid. But the feeling of fear is just...Healthy Horns Up
Dear Students,The good news: we're almost 2/3 through the fall semester. The bad news: filled with holidays, registration, events, exams and maybe even some cold weather, the final 1/3 can be a doozy. How do you make the intense final third of the semester as smooth as possible?You probably thought the rest of this message was going to be about stu...Where Longhorns Share
Dear Students,This week I am using this space to tell you about a great new program that I recently learned about. I'd like all CNS students to know about it and consider participating. It's the Longhorn SHARE Project. This is a student-led peer support program that creates spaces for students to talk about life experiences, give and receive suppor...Concentration Consideration
Dear Students,In CNS, we rightfully spend a lot of time honing our technical and analytical science skills. As important as these skills are, scientific success also depends on social-interpersonal skills that enable people to collaborate across diverse perspectives, expertise and experience. Indeed, studies show that diverse research groups produc...Time for a Contest
Dear Students,Wow. People really do have strong feelings about the Texas Science t-shirt. Almost 800 students responded to my poll last week, and a whopping 641 of them (81.97%) voted that it is time for an update. So, update we will!A number of students proposed having a design contest. I think that's a great idea. Let's do it. The college will pr...Time to Take Stock
Dear Students,As we head into October, many of you are finishing your first round of exams. If so, now's a great time to take stock. Whether your performance was fantastic or disappointing, take a moment to acknowledge yourself for taking on the challenge. Also, think about what you did to prepare, what worked and what didn't. Remember that exams a...Make Your Impact
Dear Students,We talk a lot about the amazing science and math our CNS students and alumni are doing. But the impacts of our community outside of science are equally inspiring. Last week, I attended two events that really brought this home for me.One event was the CNS Hall of Honor induction ceremony, which recognizes alumni and other friends of CN...Read It Now
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