John Messinger (CAS '17)
What did you study at NYU?
I majored in Neural Science and was also on the pre-medical track, granting me a minor in Chemistry.
What is your favorite memory of your time at NYU?
My favorite memory from NYU was all of the time I spent with the wrestling team. From October to Mid-March each year I would travel all over the country each weekend to compete. Wrestling was one of the most challenging parts of my NYU career, especially when balanced with academics. However, because of how demanding the sport was, it was also extremely rewarding. My closest and dearest friends are all from the wrestling team. I was able to achieve some amazing feats such as competing in 150 matches and winning 115, qualifying for nationals twice, and earning Academic All-American honors three times during my career. Most importantly, wrestling gave me the discipline and focus to accomplish everything I have in my four years. I truly do not know where I would be without having wrestling as my center piece.
What are your current plans?
Right now I am finishing up the project I completed as a part of my senior honors thesis in the Glimcher Lab in the Center for Neural Science. This project works with recovering opioid-addicted individuals in Bellevue Hospital's Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program to study the effects of drug craving on their decision making abilities. The hope is to eventually publish this work in a peer-reviewed journal.
