Hello! My name is Gracie Evans and I majored in psychology at Wellesley in the class of 2024. 

I first began participating in research through the MIT Language Acquisition lab as a research assistant in the summer of 2022, where I assisted in administering experimental “games” to children aged 5-7 and coding their responses. I then joined the Tetel lab as a junior in the fall of 2022, and began by helping collect samples for the Wellesley-Mayo Gut and Vaginal Microbiome project! Over the course of my time in the lab I explored many areas of the research process, including helping with the DNA extraction of collected samples and eventually working alongside Science Center staff to ship our samples to Mayo Clinic. At Wellesley, I was also involved in the Hippocratic Society and Wellesley for Boston Children’s Hospital. Additionally, I am a big proponent of a lake walk to decompress!

Since graduating, I’ve spent my gap year working as a 2nd grade teacher’s aide at an elementary school in my hometown (Muncie, IN). The experience has been both rewarding and challenging, and I’m so grateful for the relationships I’ve built with the students over these past few months. As the school year wraps up, I’m looking forward to beginning medical school at the Indiana University School of Medicine as a student in the class of 2029! I’m interested in both pediatrics and OB/Gyn, but am keeping an open mind to explore all I have to see over the next several years!