“As a first-generation college student and pre-med, choosing to major in Human Biology with the Health and Disease track was one of the most meaningful decisions I made at USC. The program gave me a strong foundation in understanding disease processes and metabolic dysfunction, which helped me feel much more prepared heading into medical school. HBIO 360 and 370 with Dr. Polidori were especially memorable—she’s such a passionate and engaging professor, and I really appreciated how she encouraged us to think critically. I loved working through patient cases in lab, practicing differentials, and interpreting lab results to figure out what might be going on and how we could treat it. The HBIO department genuinely felt like a supportive community. The faculty cared not just about our academic success, but also about helping us grow into thoughtful, capable future healthcare professionals. I’m incredibly grateful for everything I learned and for how much this major shaped my path toward medicine.”