Name: Aaron Shedlock
Year: 4th
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Major: Biochemistry and Psychology

Describe your favorite professor.

Although there are many to choose from, I would have to give the nod to chemistry professor Dr. James Landers.  Imagine an instructor that is in Sweden one night giving a presentation on his ground-breaking research and then is back to teach your class the next morning.  This is common with many professors at this nationally-renowned research institution, however Prof. Landers still manages to form close relationships with his students.  From devising clever nicknames for many of his students to taking many others to lunch, Professor Landers makes the complex material of biochemistry much more personal and manageable. 

What has been your favorite class?

In my third year, I took an upper-level biology course entitled Bioterrorism: Ethics and Public Policy.  It was a discussion-based course where fourteen students and Professor Elizabeth Machunis-Masuoka took an in-depth look into how prepared the United States is to handle terrorism and how we might cope with an attack.  The course culminated with a three week role-playing live action war game scenario where students assumed the roles of various government officials and the instructor played the role of simulating an attack and the effects of the response.  The entire course was a great learning experience and really opened my eyes to a potential threat. 

Have you taken the opportunity to get academic and career advice while a student?

I have taken advantage of so many of the various career resources UVA provides.  I have spoken with my resident advisor (RA), graduate advisor (GA), association dean, chemistry major advisor, pre-health career advisors, and multiple professors to acquire advice about courses, majors, careers, or life in general.  These individuals not only provided me with advice but also with comments on essays, applications, and resumes.  The help at UVA is limitless, but it is up to the student to take advantage of it.   

What do you wish you had known during your first year?

To take advantage of professor office hours! I only realized during my second and third years how incredible professor-student relationships can be.  Professors come from so many different backgrounds and are willing to share so many of their experiences with their students. Through my recent experiences with professors, I have been provided lunch at a farm-style home as well as offered an exclusive tour of the Chancellorsville Battlefield.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

I will always remember my UVA tour guide who said her lone regret in college was not looking into study abroad programs. UVA has a study abroad office that is prepared to send students anywhere they want to go whenever they want to go for as long as they want to be there.  The office will also help locate scholarship money and make sure all credits transfer.  I took this advice and ended up spending two weeks in August setting up free medical clinics for three impoverished towns in Nicaragua, Central America. It was an unforgettable experience where I not only learned a lot about a different culture, but also a lot about myself.

What is the best hidden (or undiscovered spot) at UVA?

Kaleidoscope room.

Why did you apply to UVA?

There is something special about a university so steeped in tradition that the students still hold the ideals and traditions of the founder dear to their hearts nearly 200 hundred years later. This is a place that is not only known for its academics, but also for a student body that is actively involved with volunteering throughout the Charlottesville community, supporting athletic teams, and participating in its 500+ clubs and organizations.  This was the student body that I wanted to join.

What is your favorite memory from your time at Virginia?

In the fall of my third year (2005), our football team defeated fourth ranked and previously undefeated Florida State in our home stadium in front of a nationally televised audience.  It was the first time we beat Florida State in ten years, and the student body subsequently rejoiced by flooding onto the field to make it a ‘sea of orange.’  It was such an incredible experience to join 12,000 of my fellow classmates on the field with the football team after this stunning victory.  I really felt part of a special community as all the students locked arms on the field and triumphantly sang our school’s fight song, “The Good Old Song.”