Compassion Cohort

Isabel Gameros

Liberal Arts Honors, History & Humanities

My first year on the 40 Acres truly highlighted how vital balance is to me. From coursework to extracurriculars to growing my community, I found motivation and calm within the Dedman Distinguished Scholars Program. From biweekly meetings with the Compassion Cohort to hours spent with scholars from others, I found an anchor and guiding light with Dedman. Beyond community and friendship, the beauty of Dedman is in the encouragement offered. It was through DDSP that I found the courage to experiment with my extracurriculars, academics, and even a double major. Dr. Musick’s encouragement to explore an honors major to pursue my interests was vital in my academic journey at UT, while my fellow scholars were instrumental in my personal life.

Throughout my first year on campus, I valued the opportunity to explore academics, from Philosophy of the Arts with Dr. Higgins to Sociology of Fertility and Reproduction with Dr. Glass, I broadened my horizons and ventured to take classes I would have never dreamed were options. It was through these courses and the resonant advice of my Dedman Community that I developed my own major through the Humanities Honors Program, intending to analyze the relationship between political thought and the media we consume. Melding my interest and experience with the Film Industry and Political Sociology exemplifies the balance I seek out in all I do, a balance DDSP emphasizes.

Outside of classes, I enriched myself through extracurriculars, joining Texas Mock Trial and travelling to Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, and more throughout the Spring and Fall competitive seasons. Working with Mock Trial necessitates an ability to balance responsibilities, adapt to ever-changing circumstances, and take charge of situations. I look forward to managing Social Media and Communications for the Organization this year while also Captaining a team in the Fall. I’ve always been a firm believer in stepping out of my comfort zone, which led me to joining an organization I’d never considered before; Student Government. Working with a fellow Dedman, Kiera, in FLO, UT’s First-year Leadership Organization, was a wonderful experience that helped me explore environmental initiatives I was passionate about. Off-campus, I spent the year working with the Dallas Subcommittee of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee of the Texas Supreme Court, investigating cases of individuals alleged to have participated in the unauthorized practice of law. Working with the UPL committee deepened my understanding of the legal world I hope to explore post-grad.

This summer, I’ve continued to expand my horizons, both intellectually and literally. Travelling to Los Angeles, Massachusetts, and London while working as a summer internship at a law firm, Vartabedian Hester & Haynes, in Dallas. It was in this role that I continued to break down and understand what it truly means to serve the community through Legal Work, my ultimate goal in life.

I am eternally grateful for the community and friendships UT and the DDSP have provided me and I cannot wait to get back on campus and with my friends and fellow scholars this fall.

Evelyn Lee

Plan II Honors & Chemistry

Dhroov Pathare

Plan II Honors & Neuroscience

There’s this photo I took halfway through the summer. It’s the back of a patient’s chart clipped to a rolling stand, half-blocked by my own shadow. I was outside a nephrology exam room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, waiting for morning rounds to begin. The patient, a middle-aged man with diabetic nephropathy, was fighting on all fronts. He had spent the past four years regularly visiting dialysis centers for life-sustaining care. “At this point,” he said, “I should be earning loyalty points,” glancing at the report, fully aware that his chart showed rising creatinine, dropping GFR, and a graft that wasn’t perfusing. He didn’t ask many questions — just nodded, folded the report, and moved on like he’d done this one too many times. I wasn’t part of his care team — just an intern observing from the corner — but that poignant moment stayed with me through the rest of the rounds and during the crowded Green Line ride across Boston, back to my summer apartment.

Alongside my clinical observations this past summer, I was fortunate to intern as a researcher in an immunology-based allotransplantation lab under the mentorship of Harvard Medical School faculty. In the lab, I was part of a team that investigated immune regulation in solid organ transplants and how our body’s autoimmune system influences tolerance. I helped isolate lymphocytes from spleen and graft tissues, ran flow cytometry panels, and helped characterize regulatory T cell subsets. I also deepened my understanding of renal physiology and pathology, and received training in conducting community-based screenings for kidney disease. When I wasn’t in the lab, I was shadowing nephrologists and observing complex vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) surgeries, humbled by the coordination required across surgical, anesthesiology, and transplant teams.

By then, the Green Line on Boston’s T had become a familiar part of my summer routine. But eight weeks later, I rode it one last time as I headed to Logan Airport, to catch a flight to Osaka, Japan. There, I began a U.S. State Department–sponsored internship at a neurorehabilitation startup based out of Osaka University. I was lucky to get the opportunity to work on clinical testing protocols and user interface improvements for a virtual reality therapy designed for movement disorders in children with muscular dystrophy. I also supported expansion efforts across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and got used to 3 a.m. Slack messages from engineers working ten time zones ahead. At first, I saw it as a detour from the basic science work I’d been doing earlier that summer. In reality, it taught me that design is medicine when the user is the patient.

On the Forty Acres, before the summer pulled me into clinical research and biotech, I spent my freshman year working in a research lab in UT’s Department of Chemical Engineering. There, I focused on helping engineer pH-sensitive monoclonal antibodies designed to more selectively bind tumor tissue in aggressive cancers. I also worked on my project: optimizing IgG2a expression in murine systems, and presented it at the UT Chemical Engineering Poster Symposium. At the same time, I joined the Biobricks for Molecular Machines Lab, where I studied how PARP1 mutations affect PARylation dynamics and interfere with DNA repair. Together, these experiences deepened my interest in therapeutic engineering and the bottlenecks that often stall translational research. I’m excited to continue this work as I head into sophomore year.

Outside the lab, I also joined a medical device startup team developing a low-cost, handheld liquid-lens phoropter for vision screening in low-resource settings. This past year, we pitched it at Rice University’s Global Health Technologies Design Competition, as well as at UT’s own Freed Family Pitch Competition, securing funding that will be invaluable for field testing this upcoming year.

On campus, I’ve stayed active in student health advocacy, contributing to research-driven policy efforts focused on equity and access. This fall, I’ll begin serving as the executive editor of a campus-wide undergraduate research journal, where I’ll be involved in selecting, refining, and publishing original research on the Forty Acres. I also plan to continue my work with a health care technology commercialization program at Dell Medical School, where I previously learned how to research FDA pathways, predicate devices, and commercialization strategies for preclinical antibody therapies.

Through it all, it was the Dedman community that showed up in all the best parts of my year. Making s’mores by the fire pit under the stars at Canyon of the Eagles, our trip to Dallas to visit the Dedman family, and every Monday evening, gathering in RLP for dinner. Even when second semester lab schedules made it harder to be there, I never stopped looking forward to it. I’m especially thankful to the Dedman family, to Dr. Pikus, to Julie, and to Dr. Musick. Finally, thank you to the Compassion Cohort. I couldn’t imagine the Forty Acres without you.

Ronak Sheth

Plan II Honors/Asian Studies/International Relations & Global Studies

My freshman year at UT was one of the most exciting and challenging years of my life. I came in eager to say “yes” to everything — classes, mock trial, internships, new friends — and quickly realized that balancing it all was more difficult than expected. Between adjusting to college coursework and traveling across the country for competitions, I had to learn how to manage my time, stay grounded, and still make space for the things I love. One of the most rewarding parts of that year was my World Literature class. In the middle of a packed schedule, it became a space to slow down and really think. Reading texts from different cultures and time periods helped me see the world — and my place in it — through new perspectives. That experience reminded me why I chose Plan II in the first place: to study big questions across disciplines, and to be challenged to reflect, not just perform.

Outside the classroom, I serve as Vice President of Texas Mock Trial. This year, I had the chance to compete nationally with an incredible team, helping us place 4th at the AMTA National Championship Tournament and move Texas to #5 in the country. I also had the opportunity to captain a team in the spring and lead us to first place at the regional tournament in Norman, Oklahoma. The experience taught me how to advocate effectively, lead under pressure, and think strategically — all of which deepened my interest in law and public service.

This summer, I’ve had the opportunity to explore those interests in two very different settings. I spent the first half of the summer interning at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington, D.C., where I worked on financial and policy research related to trade, technology, and diplomacy. I helped prepare briefing materials for high-level meetings and had the opportunity to sit in on discussions with senior government officials and business leaders from both countries — including diplomats and ministers visiting from India. Being in those rooms was both humbling and energizing. It gave me a front-row seat to the real-world mechanics of diplomacy and affirmed my interest in international law and global cooperation. For the second half of the summer, I’ve returned to Texas to work at the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office and in the chambers of Chief Judge Lee Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. At the DA’s office, I’ve been working closely with trial prosecutors — attending hearings, reviewing discovery, and helping prepare case files for trial. It’s been a powerful look at the realities of the local justice system and the weight that comes with prosecutorial discretion. My time with Judge Rosenthal has given me the rare opportunity to observe judicial reasoning firsthand and learn how thoughtful, deliberate decision-making shapes the law from the bench.

Throughout all of this, the Dedman community has been a source of support, encouragement, and reflection. Being surrounded by people who care deeply about learning and leadership — and who take the time to ask “why” as much as “how” — has shaped the way I think and the kind of person I want to become. As I head into sophomore year, I feel more focused, more grounded, and more excited than ever for what’s ahead. Outside of school and work, I’ve learned the importance of making time for the simple things — like playing tennis, MLB The Show with Milan and Devon, and finding small moments to just enjoy life. Thank you to Julie Casey, Dr. Musick, and the entire Dedman community for your continued support — I’m incredibly grateful.