Jake Reeder
Murray 1693 Scholar
Hometown
Charlottesville, VA (Woodberry Forest School)
Majors
Neuroscience
Self-designed interdisciplinary major: "Neuroscience in the humanities" (combination of philosophy, linguistics, psychology and primatology)
Research Interests
- Studied rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico for three months
- Primary research was in Professor Stefanucci's visual perception laboratory
- Also worked in research projects on Alzheimer's disease in rats and attention and memory as they relate to schizophrenia
Favorite W&M classes
Future Energy Choices, Human Nature, and Evolutionary Biology
W&M Activities
- President, Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC), especially involved in the ongoing campaign to make William & Mary a carbon neutral institution
- Helped to found a new social fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, with the goal of providing non-stereotypical Greek organization to the William & Mary social scene
Study Abroad
Studied philosophy at Oxford University during my junior year
Why W&M?
It was all about the Murray Scholars Program for me! The program offered me access to classes and research opportunities across a huge variety of academic disciplines. I was able to design my own major. I got lots of great advice for all four years, not just as a freshman and not just on what classes to take. I wouldn't trade my experience at William & Mary for the world.
Where am I now?
After graduating William & Mary, I joined Teach For America, spending two years teaching kindergarten in a school just outside of Washington, DC. I moved out of the classroom to work on the Growth Strategy and Development team at Teach For All, a network of independent organizations using the Teach For America model to expand educational opportunity globally. I am currently a graduate student at Duke University, pursuing a dual masters degrees in business and public policy (MPP/MBA). I'm looking to get back into the energy and sustainability world. I just completed a summer internship at the Treasury Department where I worked on designing the Green Climate Fund.
