When choosing a college, Christina Chang was looking for an undergraduate experience that would be "simply perfect, and also perfect for me." When she heard about the Integrated Science Curriculum (ISC) that Princeton's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics offers as an interdisciplinary introduction to the natural sciences, her search was over.

"This course has exceeded my expectations and pushed my academic curiosity farther than I thought possible," says Chang. "I have learned so many fascinating concepts fundamental to the physical sciences, and I've also gained a great deal of insight into my own interests and how I might help create new knowledge in the future."

For Chang, the best part of the course is access to the faculty members: "Discussing art with theoretical physicists or having tea with a Nobel laureate is a commonplace hobby for ISC students." She emphasizes that Princeton makes a wide range of resources available to undergraduates, and that if she could "tell a prospective student anything, it would be that Princeton delivers. Abundantly."

When she's not doing independent work in Professor Joshua Rabinowitz's chemical biology lab, or tracking down interesting Princeton researchers as a writer for Innovation, the campus science magazine, Chang enjoys contributing her talents outside the classroom. She volunteers as an Orange Key tour guide, eager to introduce visitors to her personal Princeton.

Chang is also a project coordinator for Community House, an organization that seeks to close the minority achievement gap among underserved youth in the Princeton community. Community House is part of the Pace Center, which supports many student-run public service activities.

Through her work at Community House, Chang says she has discovered "an energetic and compassionate group of Princeton volunteers who reach outside the gates of the campus to effect real change." She helped found an after-school program for middle school students in need of academic support and created a fun, hands-on classroom environment in order to share with her students her passion for science. Just as important, she says, she helped to make possible a "nurturing environment for personal growth."