Klintsova: Hello, Kerry, Could you briefly describe why you decided to come to the University of Delaware and what role figure skating played in that decision?

Benson: I started skating when I was seven year old. My sister, who is four years younger, started skating at an early age too, so we were doing it more or less simultaneously. It became clear to our parents that we were both passionate about it. We trained at the same facility where Michelle Kwan did the majority of her training. She happened to come back while we were there, which was a complete coincidence and a surprise. It was a dream to share the ice with her at times. Skating is a beautiful world, a combination of athleticism and artistic expression, and I'm grateful for those opportunities.

Unfortunately, as my career progressed, I dealt with a lot of injuries and setbacks. They taught me a lot and shaped me, especially having to deal with adversity and come back from it, but they ultimately ended my career.

That is also what brought me to the University of Delaware, in a sense. I grew up in New Jersey, so UD wasn't far from home, and it was on my radar because it was one of the few universities with a figure skating club at the time. That's why I toured. I was injured when I was choosing where to go, but it was always in the back of my mind that if I wanted to return to skating, this would be a good place to do it. I didn't, but my sister did. She was part of the club all four years of college. I never really went back to it, but I'm very grateful that skating led me to the University of Delaware. I think it was the best place for me, and I still love UD and think of it very fondly.

Klintsova: So you decided to come to UD. How did you choose your major? I know your sister, who was also at UD, went into physical therapy, right?

Benson: She did athletic training, and she knew right off the bat that this was what she wanted to pursue. I thought I was going into the medical field, and I assumed I would become a medical doctor, so I figured I'd end up in something like biology. But the neuroscience program had just been created, and I was in the second class that had the opportunity to major in it. It was a brand-new opportunity, and it seemed like a great way to check off many of the pre-med prerequisites while learning about the brain, which is fascinating. In the end, it seemed like a no-brainer.

Klintsova: You were in one of the first neuroscience major classes, and you were also the very first 4+1 master's in neuroscience student. You said you wanted to pursue a medical career, but then something changed. What led you to add another year at the University of Delaware and complete the master's program?

Benson: It was an incredible opportunity, and it was unique at the time. Now many more programs offer a 4+1. It gave me more time to think about what I wanted to do, because I was questioning whether I wanted to take the clinical route. I was so involved in the lab and genuinely interested in what we were studying that it seemed like a good chance to take it a step further and see whether I really wanted to commit to a Ph.D. or go down a different route. It gave me an avenue to explore my options in a place where I was already well ingrained and where I wanted to keep doing the work I was doing.

Klintsova: I remember that while you were working on your master's thesis, you had a lot of problems and did a lot of troubleshooting, and it was frustrating. Could you share what emotions you felt when the project wasn't going well and you had to repeat experiments over and over? It could help others see how important it is to overcome difficulties and still achieve your goal.

Benson: In the end, it's all part of the scientific process. It is valuable to go through the motions of pursuing something, even if it doesn't lead to the result you expected, because that's often how science goes. It was frustrating, and I'm grateful that I was still able to present my work. I did a lot of hard work, and not only me. I was supported by undergrads and other members of the lab. From my experience, I learned much more from failures than from easy successes, because failure shows you your character and what you're made of.

Klintsova: Is there any funny episode or anecdote you'd like to share about your time in the lab or at conferences?

Benson: Going to conferences was an amazing experience, and not everyone gets that opportunity. It was exciting to present research and talk to people in the field whose work I had been reading, and it also gave me exposure to the research world. That still means a lot to me, even though I'm not a researcher or in the field of neuroscience. I still attend conferences, and I know what to expect because I've been through it. When people give talks, I understand what goes on in the background to produce them, because I've done it myself. I attend now as a clinician rather than a researcher, but having done those things is invaluable.

But that's not really what you asked. It was simply fun to be part of the lab. It was a little community. You hosted holiday parties, which were always fun, and we had picnics at Lums Pond. They were a nice chance to connect with people outside the lab, strengthen bonds and celebrate the progress we'd made. I think that was important and valuable.