For your first blog assignment, I’d like to get to know you a bit better. This (and all blog assignments) is due Friday evening.
This is pretty simple – under you name post your basic academic information (major, class) and what your future plans are – this can be long term or short term or both. Then a sentence or two about why you decided to take this course. You can be honest – if it is just to fulfill the requirement for your major, that is fine, but I will warn you I hope to convince you it will be more fun than that. Finally – a couple of things you like to do outside of your major (it be academic or non-academic). I have posted my intro to start the ball rolling:)
My introduction
So I am long past college and graduate school, but I went to a small college much like Union called Denison University in Granville, Ohio. I majored in Biology (there was no Biochemistry major then) and had the good fortune to have a faculty member ask me what I wanted to do when I “grew up”. I was not interested in medicine, but was interested in lab work and he helped me find a summer research position in Shrewsbury, MA. I loved the lab and that set me on a path to graduate school in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale where I worked on RNA transcription termination in E. coli. My post-doc brought me to the Albany area where I worked with Marlene Belfort on prokaryotic self-splicing introns (again an RNA project). I came to Union to teach Biochemistry, but have since morphed into teaching Molecular Biology and Microbiology. I also take the term abroad to Sicily every other year and this is a new adventure for me that I am looking forward to in the Spring.
I enjoy a lot of different things when I am not working: knitting, reading, hiking, travel, fishing, boating, gardening and the odd mystery series on Netflix. Luckily my family enjoys most of these (they don’t knit). My husband is a research scientist and inventor at GE and my son just graduated from college and is taking a year off before going to grad school in Neuroscience. My siblings are both artists. I also have four great nieces ages 4, 2, 3 months and 2 weeks, so you may see photos of them now and then!
I am a senior biochemistry major with a political science minor. I am from Maine and would love to end up there in the future. For future plans, I hope to attend Medical School and become and anesthesiologist. I would also like to pursue a MPH.
I decided to take this course because it fulfilled the biochemistry requirement and I wanted a class that was more lab oriented.
Outside of the academic world I enjoy being outdoors. I love to hike and ski. I have skied since I was 2 years old and have been a ski instructor for the past 6 years. Another fun fact about me is that winter is my favorite season. If I could choose a season that would be all year round it would definitely be winter. Another one of my interests is hanging out with my friends and attending sporting events.
Hey everyone my name is Kara Leyden and I’m a junior chemistry / sociology ID major. I’m from just outside of Albany, NY. As far as my future goes, I plan to get and MBA in healthcare management and attend medical school. I’m not sure what type of physician I want to be, but I’ve studied vascular permeability and inflammation for 4 years at Albany Medical College which has really excited me. I decided to take this class to have broader lab skills , and because I liked the idea of integrated lab/lecture. I hope to do clinical research someday as well.
In my free time I enjoy hiking, traveling, reading, and baking. This winter break I’m going to Munich, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest which I’m super excited about. I also spend most of my summers in Narragansett, Rhode Island. I currently work as a nurses aide at Albany Medical Center, which has been both challenging and humbling.
Hey y’all, my name is Elizabeth and I’m a senior biochemistry major / psychology minor. I’m currently in the middle of the medical school application process and hope to gain admission to an MD/PhD program. Eventually, I hope to practice and do research with high-risk pregnancies. I was raised to love and cherish family, so dedicating my career to helping others create healthy families seems like the perfect way to spend my life. I decided to take this class because I enjoyed BIO225 and love being in the lab. I also took microbiology my sophomore year and found it very interesting, so I figured this would be a great way to do some more similar work. When I’m not in class or working on thesis, a lot of my time goes to being an RA. This is my third year working as an RA and I absolutely love it. The relationships I get to form with residents and staff members are different than any I’ve had with friends or peers in the past. If I don’t end up getting into medical school, I’d have to strongly consider a graduate degree in higher ed because I love working with students.
Hi everyone! My name is Nikki Derosier and I am a senior biochemistry major and Spanish minor. In the future, I am torn between teaching science or working in the pharmaceutical industry. I decided to take this class as one of my upper-level bio elective requirements for my major because I liked that it was lab based and the topic of antibiotics interests me, as it was part of my internship this past summer. Outside of class, I really enjoy all things sports. I have played soccer and basketball my whole life and enjoy watching sports also. On campus, I am a tour guide and love getting to meet all the prospective students and their families.
Hello. My name is Minh. I’m a senior, biochemistry major and economics minor. After graduating, I plan on moving back to Poland (where I am from) and attend a medical school over there. However, if that doesn’t work out, I hope to work in a lab or pursue a career in finances.
I decided to take this course because I found out that it was going to be taught in the new building and so I thought the class and the lab are going to be cool (which they are). Besides, I felt that taking a class that is so heavily lab-oriented would be a nice change to long lectures.
Outside of the academic environment, I am a devoted sports fan. I follow soccer, football, tennis, basketball, hockey, and even golf. Besides that, I really like to explore and try new food places.
Hello, my name is Brianna and I am a senior Biochemistry and French double major. I’m unsure of my immediate future, as in what will happen after June 16th. I’m thinking of going (escaping) to France and possibly teaching English. I’m also thinking of looking for a job in a lab/ industry or even becoming an EMT for a year before applying for med school. My long term goal would to become a pediatrician.
I decided to take this course to fulfil a requirement for the biochemistry major. I also thought this course would be helpful with both my senior thesis project, as well as in my undecided future. I also thought the topic/ course description was interesting.
Outside of my major, I’m involved with Big Brother Big Sisters where I’ve mentored a little girl for the past three years. I have also served on the Wold Minerva council. Other random things about me are; I love to bake (I make a pretty good banana bread), I have a poodle named Ginger that I love to death, and I enjoy skiing despite my lack of athletic abilities.
Hi everybody! My name is Alexa and I’m a senior biochemistry major and classics minor. After I graduate from Union I plan to get my masters in clinical laboratory science or molecular biology. I think I want to pursue a career in research after that, but we’ll see what happens. I decided to take this course because I loved Bio 225 and the heavy emphasis on lab work in this course interested me. I’ve been working at the book store on campus ever since my freshman year and I love the work environment there. Outside of school work I love to do yoga, go on bike rides, and go on hikes with my seven month old Australian shepherd puppy that I got this past summer.
Hello! I’m Tommy Gagliardi and I am a senior Biochemistry major with no minors (because I like to take all sorts of classes when not taking bio or chem some include Spanish, history, classics, psychology, and sociology). When I came to Union, I wanted to be a dentist but now I am applying to medical schools with a couple interviews coming up. Not sure what niche I will fill in medicine, but enjoyed the ER, oncology, neurology, and surgery …. I’m hoping to learn about all sorts of medicine in medical school.
I registered for this class to fulfill a biochem requirement, but I didn’t realize that it would be this cool! Seriously, I think the whole growing microbes from soil samples, checking them on our own time and finding antibiotics (!!) is super fun.
Back at home I am a volunteer firefighter and have been active since I was 16 (they didn’t let me go into house fires until I was 18). My dad, grandfather, uncle, older brother, and little brother are all firefighters as well and right now I’m training to drive ambulances. I have 3 siblings – older brother who graduated Union last year, younger brother applying to Union right now and younger sister in 8th grade. Grew up in Westchester, NY. I also love playing sports, I’ve been on the Crew team here for 3 years and now am trying out for baseball. I did some cool research at IBM this summer in computational neuroscience and am doing thesis with Dr. Kehlbeck and Dr. Amanuel on the coffee project. Last year I went on the Australia study abroad trip and it was outrageous… loved it. Also I’m big into water skiing and cliff jumping at Lake George in summer.
Hi everyone! My name is Sofia and I am a senior biology and spanish double major. After Union, I would like to pursue an MPH and do epidemiological research. I think eventually I would like to go to med school and work for an organization such an doctors without borders. I chose to take this class because I really enjoy this type of lab work, and I am also very interested in disease research and thought this class would relate well.
Outside of the academic world, I love being outside. I enjoy hiking, sailing, and skiing especially. I am also very involved in community service on campus, and volunteer with the Kenney center and I am one of the chairs of Campus Kitchens. I also love to travel and I am a huge animal lover!
Hi, my name’s Nicole and I’m a biology major in my Junior year. I know my short term goal is to make it through this term alive, and I used to think my long term goal was to go to medical school and become a forensic pathologist, but now I’m not sure. I still want to do something scientific in a lab, but I don’t know if med school is my thing. I’m here because bio majors need a variety of classes and I think that this class sounded really cool. I may change my opinion on liking the lab in this class if the bacteria cultures can smell any worse. In my free time, I often read or play games on my computer, but at home I do dressage on my horse. I’m also the treasurer of Union Pride this year.
My name is Carly Burns and I am a Biology major in my Junior year. Long term I would eventually like to go onto medical school, but I am not sure about the timeline I will follow. I think I may take a gap year or possibly go straight to PA school and then go onto med school after that so I have an income. I took this course because I needed to take a bio course for my major but also because I took a molecular biology class my junior year of high school and I loved it. That class made me realize I definitely wanted to be a science major in college and the teacher I had for that class was the best teacher I have ever had. I never felt upset to go to that class because I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am extremely grateful to be able to take this class again at the college level. Outside of class I love working out at the gym and running. I also love to spend time with my close friends and have movie nights with them.
Hi everyone,
I’m Troy. For those who don’t know me I usually sit in front of the class and forget my long pants for lab! I am a Biochemistry major here at Union while minoring in BioMedical Engineering! I am from a small town outside of Worcester, MA called Millbury. I grew up there playing baseball, playing soccer, and spending time outdoors fishing or hiking (all of which I still enjoy today)! I came to Union as a transfer from Fordham University in the Bronx, NY where I studied to be a Chemistry Major. I played baseball here at Union for a year and a half, but have taken a break to focus on my studies. I will be taking a gap year after graduation to work as an EMT before I apply to either Veterinary or Human Medical School, and I am looking forward to working in the lab and learning more about antibiotics and bacteria with all of you!