 My name is Ben Henderson and I'm a post-doctoral scientist at the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. When I went to UA, my initial plan was pre-med. I thought I was going to do medical school, and it wasn't until I got to UA and began doing research that I really fell in love with science and being in the lab and doing research. When I was working in a research lab at UA, I was given my own project. I was given the opportunity to do the research. I was given the opportunity to present that research at conferences at UA and then nationally. That gave me the opportunity to see what it's like to then lead a research project. What it means to drive it yourself and to have to have that work ethic to really push through and get the work done and get all the pieces in place that you need to have to really lead a project. Having a professor that invested in me, that gave me the opportunity to be in lab and to actually do this work, that was really huge. You know, once someone has put a lot of resources into you, it makes me then want to go out and impact someone else in the same way. Alabama offers you opportunity. It gives you the opportunity to get involved and to be in a lab or to be in any number of programs that the university may be offering. It's up to you in the end to take advantage of those offers. Once you actually get plugged in and get involved, the research program or with the mentor, I think is really great. I had six amazing years at UA getting my undergraduate masters. It was the relationships that I made with people that were huge. It was making friends, it was meeting new colleagues. The investment that I got at UA was as good as anywhere else that I've seen.