What is your major and minor? What other academic programs were you a part of?
Biology major with a specialization in molecular biology. Chemistry minor.
What are some of the jobs you held while at McDaniel?
I worked for Admissions as a student ambassador and for the chemistry department as a tutor and T.A.
What organizations were you a part of at McDaniel? What positions did you hold?
I was a part of Student Alumni Council where I was secretary and then president. I was also involved in the Honors Program, intramural sports, and TriBeta, the biology honors society, of which I was treasurer.
Have you enjoyed your time at McDaniel? If so, what did you enjoy the most?
Absolutely yes. The best part of McDaniel is the people: my close friends and roommates, my professors, other faculty, my SAC family, and friends from class. The support and fun times I had with the people of McDaniel are what made McDaniel feel like home.
Who do you think was/is your best mentor?
Dr. Huang in the biology department pushed me to be my best in his classes and others, and is the reason I have been successful thus far.
Describe your favorite memory at McDaniel.
I definitely can’t narrow down one favorite memory, I have so many great experiences: fall break trips, senior Homecoming, TAG day with SAC, to name a few. I guess I would have to say my favorite memory is all of the times my friends and I stayed up past 2 a.m. just playing board games and having fun together.
What are some of the challenges you encountered and how did you overcome them?
When I started college, I had some social anxiety when it came to talking to new people. To fix this, I forced myself into situations where I’d have to talk: I became a tour guide, joined SAC (an organization whose goal is to talk to alumni), and did my best to speak up in class. If you had asked me freshman year, I never would have imagined I would be president of a club in college or giving talks at events for admitted students.
What are your plans for after graduation?
I will be attending Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri to pursue my Ph.D. in molecular cell biology.
What would you tell yourself as a first-year student at McDaniel?
Don’t stress out so much and don’t forget it’s okay to go out and have fun sometimes. Also, your senior year is going to get cut short so make sure to savor all of it, because the lasts will pass by without you even knowing.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the McDaniel community?
Your time in college is limited and you never know what will happen, I definitely never imagined finishing my senior year at home. So enjoy all the parts of your McDaniel experience, not just the fun nights out but all the little things too: staying up late to finish a major assignment, being annoyed because your roommates didn’t do their dishes, your professor going off on a random tangent… all the moments that make up your time on the Hill.
