Rylee Cae Gallagher
UW Honors Graduates
Rylee Cae Gallagher
International Studies: Comparative Religion and Asia.
Designation: Interdisciplinary Honors
Honors Grads 2017/2018
Proudest Moment: My proudest moment at UW was actually First-year year when I 4.0'ed an advanced senior writing class my first quarter and the teacher read my essay aloud to the class.
When I applied to UW, I thought I was going to be Indiana Jones and study archeology. I soon realized that there was much more, and less, to archeology than chasing tales of lost civilizations or running from man eating ants through rainforests. But my appreciation for culture did lead me to my major within the Jackson School of International Studies focusing on South Asia and Comparative Religion. Throughout my time at UW I fundraised and acted as Project Director for a non-profit, made lasting relationships with children as a nanny, became a Certified Peer Counselor, swam through unnamed fountains, whitewater rafted down the Indus river, drove across Himalayan mountain tops while introducing local villagers to Chance the Rapper, explored actual remnants of ancient civilizations in Ecuador, learned to speak broken Hindi in India and (mostly) write in Urdu, swam with sharks in Belize, bathed in bath houses in Hungary, visited the oldest megalithic manmade structure in the world, and spent more than 18 months studying abroad. So, although I did not get to become Indiana Jones, I feel like I have managed to make everyday at UW an adventure. Not to mention, the people I have met on each adventure, from living in a 9 bedroom house to sharing a room at a hostel, have truly shaped my experiences for the rest of my life. I will never forget my days as an undergrad.