Lillianna Puppel’s goal is to become a professor and researcher in the field of behavioral neuroscience. She began her journey at Ohio Northern University.
At ONU, she majored in psychology with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience and a minor in sociology.
She also became the head lab assistant for Dr. Phil Zoladz’ rat research lab, which she joined as a freshman.
“It was fascinating to look at how drugs interact with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and at the data we obtained. Neuroscience was my favorite part of what we did in the lab.”
Lillianna knew she wanted to go to a small university not too far from home. She appreciated that at ONU "the curriculum is very thorough, and you get many opportunities you might not get elsewhere.”
She also appreciated the relatively small classes compared to other schools.
“With fewer students, you get more opportunities. You have the chance to be a tutor, a teaching assistant and/or a lab assistant. You may apply for internships that are formed through the program, including working at the Child Development Center or shadowing a school psychologist in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Many professors even hire students to work for them over the summer in the research labs.”
Lillianna had many memorable experiences during her time at ONU and, when asked, came up with one opportunity that particularly stood out.
“Working in the rat research lab landed me the opportunity to attend the Society for Neuroscience conference several times, which is an international conference that has roughly 30,000 attendees," she said.