When Selena Liu was applying to colleges in the United States, she was not looking for a university that would force her to narrow her interests as quickly as possible. Instead, she wanted the opposite: a place where curiosity itself could be part of the educational experience.
Originally from Beijing, China, Selena came to the University of Washington because she was drawn to the interdisciplinary nature of U.S. higher education and the freedom it offered students to explore different fields before deciding exactly who they wanted to become.
“I really like exploring all of my options before diving deeper.”
That desire to explore has shaped nearly every part of Selena’s undergraduate journey.
“I really value the interdisciplinary aspect of the U.S. education system. You have the freedom to explore different areas.”
Now a third-year student studying Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) with a minor in global health, Selena has spent her time at UW weaving together interests that, at first glance, might seem unrelated: sociology, design, mental health research, entrepreneurship, dance, global health, and art.
But for Selena, those interests are not separate paths competing with one another. They are all connected by the same question: how do people experience the world, and how can creativity, design, and community improve that experience?
“In high school, I wanted to go into sociology, and then I started exploring design,” Selena said. “I realized UW had this program of Human Centered Design & Engineering, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is the perfect major for me.’”
Even after finding HCDE, however, Selena’s curiosity continued expanding.
Exploring everything, everywhere, all at once
Selena describes her academic journey as “all over the place” but in the most intentional way possible.
During her first year at UW, Selena joined a Direct Research Group focused on mental health research. The experience introduced her to questions about well-being, health equity, and the social factors that shape people’s lives. That experience eventually led her toward global health coursework and a global health minor.
“I started wanting to learn more about epidemiology and health across different countries,” she said. “A lot of the topics are very broad, and we get to discuss health contexts across different places.”
Rather than treating these interests as disconnected subjects, Selena began noticing how they informed one another. Her coursework in HCDE shaped how she thought about accessibility and user experience. Her interest in sociology influenced how she approached questions about mental health and community. Global health expanded the scale of those questions beyond a single country or culture leading her to study abroad in Peru.
Even entrepreneurship became another extension of that same mindset.
Selena’s interest in entrepreneurship did not begin in a business class. Instead, it started while trying to recover from academic burnout.
During a stressful period, she began making art again for the first time in years. One afternoon, she collected leaves and turned them into a hanging chandelier for her room. The process unexpectedly changed the way she moved through daily life.
“That process made me realize how arts and crafts were really therapeutic and inspirational,” she said. “It helped me notice little things.”
The experience inspired Selena and a few classmates to develop a travel-inspired arts and crafts concept through the Dempsey Startup Competition. Their project focuses on helping people reconnect with creativity, mindfulness, and cultural learning through hands-on artistic experiences.
“As a designer, you learn to research the problem space before building a solution. That process really helped us identify what we wanted our project to become.”
The project ultimately became a way to bring together many of the ideas she had already been exploring through her coursework: design thinking, mental health, creativity, and human connection.
A home in the Honors Program
Much of Selena’s ability to connect different interests came through the Interdisciplinary Honors Program, which she says became one of the defining parts of her undergraduate experience.
“The Honors Program is actually my main reason why I ended up at UW,” she said. “It’s very interdisciplinary, and all the classes are super fun.”
The program provided something larger than simply smaller class sizes or additional coursework. It created an environment where exploration itself felt academically valuable.
Instead of forcing students to immediately specialize, the program encourages them to engage with ideas across disciplines and think deeply about how those subjects connect to one another.
“I do not feel that I am responsible for committing to one option before exploring all my other options." - Selena
One quarter, Selena took a course about love that examined the concept through sociology, philosophy, economics, and culture. Another class explored birdsong and music, asking students to spend time outdoors listening to and documenting birds.
Those experiences reinforced an idea Selena had been discovering throughout college: some of the most meaningful learning happens when students allow themselves to slow down, observe carefully, and remain open to unfamiliar subjects.
Her honors advisor, Wien Sillevis Smitt, says that openness to exploration is exactly what makes Selena stand out.
Selena is a really good example of the ways that students can take advantage of the many resources there are at UW… It really feels like she has done all of the things that many of our students get to do in even the three years that she’s already here.
Get to know Selena and her UW journey
Finding community and balance
Outside the classroom, Selena has found balance through creativity, movement, and community.
She is a member of UW Undivided, a student hip-hop dance team where she not only performs but also choreographs routines and coordinates formations for showcases. She also serves as design chair for the UW Hip-Hop Student Association, creating graphics, flyers, and merchandise for the organization.
“It was a really good experience because I always loved dancing,” she said. “I wanted to find a community where I could grow as a dancer.”
Beyond dance, Selena intentionally makes time to slow down and recharge which she says is especially important while balancing multiple commitments.
“Yeah, I feel like it’s too much all the time sometimes,” she shared with a laugh. “I love to go on a lawn on a sunny day and just sketch what I see. Drawing is a coping mechanism for me.”
One of her favorite ways to relax came through an unexpected place: an honors course about birdsong and music. For weekly assignments, Selena spent time near Sylvan Grove listening to birds and documenting what she notices.
“It was my first time doing this, and it was really fun honestly,” she said. “I will just sit there for 20 to 30 minutes listening to birds and watching them fly around.”
She says moments like those help her stay connected to both herself and the campus around her.
“I feel like that’s really good for mental health,” she said. “I like being outside.”
For Selena, balance doesn’t come from doing less; it comes from making space for both movement and stillness.
Selena is a member of UW Undivided, a student hip-hop dance team that allows her to explore creativity and balance.
Selena has come to enjoy spending time in Sylvan Grove listening to birds and their unique songs.
What it means to be a student at UW
That willingness to continue exploring academically, creatively, and personally is what Selena believes undergraduate education should encourage.
“What I love about being a student is that I get to take advantage of all the resources UW has to offer and explore whatever I feel like.”
Her experience at UW has not followed a perfectly linear plan. Instead, it has been shaped by conversations, experiments, unexpected interests, and moments of curiosity that opened new directions she could not have predicted when she first arrived in Seattle.
That uncertainty, Selena believes, is not something students should fear.
“A lot of the opportunities I got came from just asking people and starting conversations,” she said. “You never know what’s going to happen along the way.”
To Selena, being an undergraduate student is not about having everything figured out. It is about giving yourself permission to explore widely enough to discover possibilities you did not know existed yet.