Purna Dalal

Biology and Sociology Double Major at the University of Connecticut

Purna is a 2018 Open River Scholar going into her junior year at the University of Connecticut with a double major in biology and sociology, and a minor in neuroscience. She is a co-coordinator for the WiSTEM Mentoring Program, working with UConn’s Women’s Center to pair first-year women in STEM with upperclassmen as mentors. These mentors provide a helping hand to first-years students entering a large public university, especially in male-dominated STEM fields where the retention rate for women is incredibly low.

In her first two years at UConn, Purna enjoyed studying organisms, specifically humans, on both a microscopic and macroscopic level. She specifically enjoyed her Sociology of the Family class, where she learned about the changing forms and values of the American Family and the social conditions that influence it. She found it even more interesting combined with her Organic Chemistry lab where she had the opportunity to perform the experiments and chemical mechanisms that she had spent the year learning about. Purna continues to pursue her academic interest in human social interactions through her work in a cognitive science research lab where she explores how different semantic variables influence spoken word recognition (SWR). 

In addition to her classes and the WiSTEM Mentoring Program, Purna is also involved in UConn’s HOLDUP!  (Husky Outreach for Leadership Development, Understanding, and Pride) Big Brother Big Sisters program. She is also a part of a Sustainability Campaign with UConn Public Interest Research Group, working to reduce fossil fuel usage on campus and help UConn become a 100% clean campus!