Fall — 2008

Hillary Seidenberg

Neuroscience

“I didn’t come to SMC for anything other than the Sciences. But I was surprised to learn that some of my favorite professors actually came from other departments.”

Mind, brain, and soul. These are some of the enormous mysteries that Hillary Seidenberg plans to delve into as a neurosurgeon. “I was going to opera school in Rochester, NY. But I was taking brain and cognitive science classes on the side, and I discovered I was really passionate about them. And ultimately,” she explains, “I want to be able to help people. And to do this, I need to have a very passionate involvement in whatever I’m doing in my career.”

Now in her second year at SMC, Hillary is looking forward to an imminent transfer to UCLA. “Neurosurgery will be my first choice, but I’d also like to be involved in research. I chose to study the mind because there’s a great duality involved with it. There are so many universal things that we all share, but ultimately, we are all individuals,” she explains. “We have come so far in what we know of the brain and the mind. I mean, people can have brain operations while they’re fully conscious. But there’s so much interconnection and deep philosophical issues yet to explore.”

From singing Puccini arias to scrubbing up for the surgical suite. Quite a shift in direction, indeed. “But I’m really happy to be back in Los Angeles and studying what I really love to do,” says Hillary. “Our department is extraordinary, and the labs and equipment are amazing. I have many, many years of studying ahead of me. But I feel that I’m getting excellent preparation for all those years at SMC.”

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