Mason Mandolfo

Why you chose your major

I chose biological sciences to help people as a physician one day, and I chose philosophy to gain perspective on the world and challenge my beliefs.

Favorite and/or most impactful course

Metaphysics is the study of how we perceive the world and determine what is real and not real around us. It blew my mind and changed the way that I look at the world.

Research or internship experience

I worked in the Covid testing facility during the pandemic, which led to a research opportunity at UNMC over the summer. I was researching the relationship between the bacteria in our gut and the immune system’s response to pneumonia.

Other involvement

I am a codirector of family relations for the university’s Dance Marathon program. It is essentially a yearlong fundraising program for Children’s Hospital in Omaha. Sometime in the spring there is a huge party where we reveal how much money was raised and have a fun atmosphere where kids that were treated at children’s can feel like a kid again. My role is to help communicate and manage the families from Children’s that are involved in our program, as well as the family representatives that we assign each family so that they have a personal guide during all of our events.

Why you chose Nebraska

I wanted to be far enough from home that my parents wouldn’t bother me, but close enough so I could go bother them