Year in the CHC: Sophomore
Majors: Human physiology and neuroscience
Minors: Biology and chemistry
In the fridge: Leftover curry and black olives
Song on repeat: “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O'Connor
Favorite Books: “Play It As It Lays” by Joan Didion and “Franny and Zooey” by J.D. Salinger
Role model: Dr. Joycelyn Elders, the 15th U.S. Surgeon General

If you find yourself sitting down for a conversation with Clark Honors College student Avery Suriano, grab your seatbelt, strap yourself in and get ready for a rollercoaster of a ride.

Make it a point to take in and enjoy the scenery as the sophomore paints a vivid picture of her early childhood, her fascination with science and a series of significant mileposts that led her to Eugene.

“I have a pretty high level of independence in my life,” says Suriano, who is majoring in human physiology and neuroscience. “Maybe call it hyper independence. Every day, I have been able to figure out how to enhance my own journey. You just have to make it happen yourself.”

She will tell you that she has a pocketful of mentors to guide her, but it’s clear that she has made things happen through sheer force of will.

Take, for instance, the job she got at age 14 working as a barista. Or how she turned a long stretch of fear into academic motivation. Then there was the decision to not let the COVID-19 lockdown deprive her of making decisions about her future - she later got a tattoo on her right forearm of her and her late grandfather who died from the disease in 2020.

When she arrived in Eugene as an Honors College student, she made deliberate moves to join activities that would push her forward and connect her with people who would help Suriano move closer to her career passion: To become an obstetrician.

She joined a lab in her freshman year - a move she highly encourages first-year students to do - and has dived into her CHC classes with enthusiasm. “Science is the most fascinating thing in the world to me,” she says. “But the CHC allows me to be with other people who have varied interests from me. I get to learn with them and from them, and I hope they get something from me, as well.”

CHC Dean Carol Stabile works closely with Suriano, who is a member of the college’s Student Advisory Council.

“Avery and I first connected when she learned that I’m originally from New Jersey, too. We had a hilarious conversation about what that means,” Stabile recalls. “She is the kind of student who doesn’t wait to be told what to do. She has a vision for a future in which she works as an ob/gyn and gets to take care of pregnant folk and deliver babies.

“Avery brings joy to the world and I have no doubt that she’ll continue to do that long after she says goodbye to Chapman Hall.”

The CHC Post sat down with Suriano to hear more about what makes her tick and what she has her sights set on for her future. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

As a kid, were you always studious or did you sit around all day and watch cartoons?

I've always really loved school. I love the structure. I was always super involved and got really good grades. But I never studied hard for things until senior year of high school. Most school things came easily to me. That changed a lot at college. Being at the Honors College motivates you to move forward, to set a career goal and go after it to make it happen. I’m definitely a workaholic. That’s what everyone has kind of told me my whole life. I’ve always wanted to work. I started working when I was 14.

What did you do? And how did you get a job being so young at the time?

I was a Dunkin Donuts barista, off the books. I answered a Facebook advertisement. (laughs)

Were you scared or worried that you might get caught? How does that relate to the person you are now?

I think at that point in my life, yes, I was scared but I wanted to work. I spent probably the first 17 years of my life living with a lot of fear. Would something happen and would I not be able to follow my dreams? And I think I kind of woke up one day and realized: This fear is not getting me anywhere. It made me really motivated and really driven, and now I know exactly what I want to do with my life. Things don’t just fall into your lap. You need to just start doing things and make them happen.

What was it like when you first came to UO and the Honors College?

I just kind of was immediately in my element. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is awesome. I can totally do this.’ The Honors College helps you get organized and helps you believe in yourself and your dreams and the relationships you have. My freshman-year roommate is someone who I live with now. She is one of my best friends in the world. I love how in such a short time I have been able to experience new things and figure out my path. 

Not too many first- or second-year college students know what they want to do for a career. You’re studying a lot of science in your majors and minors. How did you land on that focus so early? 

Science is the most fascinating thing in the world. I just think it’s so cool. My mom was the science supervisor for our school district and was a chemistry teacher for a long time, so I’ve always kind of loved science.

What are your plans after you graduate from the Honors College?

I really want to go to Oregon Health Sciences University (in Portland) and do the M.D./PhD program there. I love neuroscience, and I really, really enjoy the research that I’m involved in now.

So, what do you want to do? What are your goals?

I want to deliver babies. I know that’s what I want to do with my life. I remember I was 13, watching an OB/GYN who was a YouTuber and I was kind of like mesmerized by everything she said. I said to myself: ‘I am going to do that!’ I ordered myself a suture kit on Amazon, and I taught myself how to suture. That was my hobby. Then I started looking at where I could go to college so I could become like her. I definitely want to work in women’s health. At some point, I would love to open up  a fertility clinic. I think that would be so cool. My crazy goal is to become the (U.S.) Surgeon General. My plan B is to be an aquarium mermaid.

You’re in a lab, right? How did that happen? How did you find one so early in your academic career and get in?

It happened in my first year at the Honors College. I had a bit of an unorthodox journey getting involved in research. I originally came in with a human physiology major, but I ended up meeting someone from UO’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE) at a scholarship event. The person suggested that I look into labs on campus outside of my major. I didn’t intend on joining a lab, but I had always been interested in research. So I started looking at different labs on campus that were less focused on my major and more on my interests.

I always thought neuroscience was cool and I found the website of the Sylwestrak lab and became fascinated with the work they had done on the mechanisms of motivated behavior. I cold-emailed the lab and got a response from the grad student, Jackie Kuyat, who is now my awesome mentor. I didn’t really understand at the time that I was applying for the position because I was just excited to learn more about something that sparked my interest. Now I am majoring in human physiology and neuroscience, and I have absolutely fallen in love with all of the work I do in lab. I was just following my heart.

Why did you pick the Honors College?

I love history. I am not the best writer, but I really like writing. I think that the Honors College for me is kind of like a very grounding place. Being pre-med, all of my other courses are like in big lecture halls with a lot of people. I mean, no one is having a deep, intellectual conversations in Organic Chemistry 2, let me tell you. That’s one of the big draws about the CHC for me is having small, discussion-based classes. What I love about the Honors College most is probably all of my friends that I’ve met here are studying such different things than what I’m studying. We don’t compete with each other. We lift each other up. 

What about activities outside of classes?

The first thing I really got involved in was getting a job at the UO Health Center. I’d heard about it at IntroDucktion, about working as a peer navigator. I started in Week 2 of fall term as a volunteer, and then by March, I was promoted to a lead. And that was awesome, because the kid who trained me was a senior at the time. He trained me on everything, and he also worked in a lab. He was pre-med, and so he had taken all the classes that I needed to take, and it was just really helpful to have him and so many others as mentors.

I work in the Sylwestrak Lab. It’s a neuroscience lab. I am finishing up my summer research project that I started working on late in the summer. I work under a grad student who has shown me a lot. I love it. For a while, I was running behavioral experiments with mice. My project involves studying reward prediction error signaling in a region of the brain called the lateral habenula.

What has your lab experience been like?

I love working in research. The science is so cool and I’m just fascinated by it. There are a lot of links between neuroscience and obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health. To be able to do that research is a huge goal for my future and would be such an amazing thing.

How has your experience in the Honors College shaped your thinking?

I guess my everyday thing is that it’s honed my focus. I always knew I wanted to be a healthcare provider and deliver babies. And I want to continue research in neuroscience. I think all the time about one day running a fertility clinic and providing complex family planning for the community. The CHC has been a great fit for me because it emphasizes confidence, knowledge and improvement. 

You’re a member of the CHC Student Advisory Council (StAC). How has that gone for you?

I applied to be on the StAC during my freshman year. I wanted to get more involved with the Honors College because all of my major/pre-med classes were very specifically tailored to STEM, whereas the CHC classes I have been able to take have been more interdisciplinary and cover a much broader range of topics. I thought I could be a helpful resource to the StAC as someone who grew up outside of Oregon but currently lives here, as I can connect with out-of-state and in-state students. I am also a huge fan of the inter-cohort connections that the StAC has helped me build. I feel like I have been able to get to know students from completely different backgrounds, academic interests, and life experiences because of the StAC.

What piece of advice would you give somebody who’s been accepted for next year to the CHC as it pertains to getting in a lab and pursuing your passion?

Be present. Make the most of things. Just be prepared to insert yourself into situations that maybe you don’t think you belong in, and figure out how you can belong. That’s how I’ve gotten to do everything that I do now. I just tried to put myself in places that I wanted to be. It’s kind of a very odd way to say it, but I think that if you really want something you’re really interested in, you just need to show up and figure out how you can actually continue to show up. With my job at the health center, I just went up to the person I didn't know would be my boss and I was like: ‘Hey, I want to work here.’ She gave me her email and I reached out. 

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