Why LSU? Science Graduates Share Their LSU Experience
After years of lectures, laboratories, research, study groups, and exams, the College of Science Class of 2018 have earned their Tiger stripes!
Congratulations to our spring graduates! We are so proud of your accomplishments!
I invite you to reminisce with some of our newest alumni as they reflect on their college experience and prepare for life beyond the gates of LSU. So, join Jesus, Brea, Jimmy, Gus, Veronica, Benjamin, and Zachary as they share their favorite LSU memories, passion for science, and plans for the future!
Jesus David Pineda-Ramirez - Biochemistry
Career Plans: Medical school at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans
Jesus: I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. At age 5, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). My parents and I immigrated to the US in order for me to receive treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Thankfully, I have been cancer-free for almost 15 years.
My experiences as a cancer survivor and my love of science has driven me to pursue a career in medicine!
This past summer I had a summer research internship in the Pediatric Oncology Education (POE) Program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where I worked on a research project in Dr. Richard Webby's lab in the Infectious Disease Department. For my research, I examined the changes in gene sequence of the influenza viruses collected from fecal, nasal, and oral samples of immunocompromised patients at the hospital. Alongside researching, I was able to attend talks about virology and pediatric oncology!
How has LSU prepared you for the next step in your career?
Jesus: LSU was an amazing environment to foster my academic career! Majoring in Biochemistry has allowed me to grow as a person and as a student!
Advice:
Jesus: Learn what studying method is best suited for you! If a style isn't giving you the results you want, adapt and change until it does! Be persistent!
Science Role Models:
Jesus: I look up to the physicians at St. Jude! I wouldn't be where I am today without them!
Favorite LSU Memory:
Jesus: One of my favorite memories was hearing the bell tower play the alma mater after finishing my last final exam in my first semester as a freshman! It felt as if the campus was welcoming me for the long journey ahead! I can't believe that was almost four years ago!
Brea Manuel - Chemistry
Why did you choose LSU and what were the most rewarding aspects?
Brea: I chose LSU, because I am very family oriented and wanted to stay home. I'd also fallen in love with LSU's campus. The most rewarding aspects were the connections I've made and the friendships I've gained within the department. I have had the opportunity to be a mentee to nationally and world renown chemists at LSU. In addition, approximately 13 chemistry majors graduated in May. I have taken all of my classes with them for the last two years. We planned dinners, lunches, and post-graduation gatherings.
What excites you most about doing science?
Brea: My mind is always going a million miles per hour. What excites me so much about doing science is coming up with new ideas. The biggest challenge I face and will always face is research never going as planned. I may plan my entire week out, and an instrument may not be working that week, pushing me back a week. I overcome this by simply pressing forward. I pray, and I remember why I'm doing this in the first place. I also just read literature and think of new ideas or ways I can enhance what I am working on at that moment. I never let anything hinder me. I try to find ways to be constructive even when things don't go as planned.
What is a recent outreach activity that you have participated in?
Brea: Last semester I performed a ChemDemo at Dunham. The 5th grade students absolutely loved the demo, and this made my heart smile! Before I left, they begged me to come back with liquid nitrogen. So this semester, I went back with the liquid nitrogen! Their excitement for chemistry motivated me to become a mentor.
Advice:
Brea: My biggest piece of advice is, if you're serious about chemistry, take the best and hardest professor for your chemistry classes. Also, LEARN the material. Chemistry only gets harder as you go, and everything will come together in the end. The first two years may all seem different as far as the material, but it will all come together by your third year.
Jimmy Mickler - Microbiology, Minor in Classical Guitar
Career Plans: Medical school at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans
President’s Alumni Scholarship
- Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity
Student Government, Speaker of the Student Senate
Volunteer for the Arts in Medicine Program at the Baton Rouge General Medical Hospital
What do you love most about Microbiology?
Jimmy: Since I was young, I was always asking questions from why does food give us energy to why do I have to sleep. To my parents relief, I discovered science was a field of study devoted to the process of answering questions. Microbiology fuels my curiosity because it provides a glimpse into an unknown world that hides in plain sight and is integral to almost every life processes. From infectious disease to life on Mars, the complexity of microbes is astonishing and to be on the cutting edge of research and medicine is a thrill I plan to keep chasing.
What is the craziest thing that you have done for science?
Jimmy: In one of my drawers under my laboratory space there is a sleeping bag that I have used more than I would like to admit. Sometimes reactions have to run overnight and the only way to preserve a week long experiment is a sleepover in Life Sciences. To my surprise, the building was full of researchers taking the night shift as well. I guess it's not that out of place after all.
How has LSU prepared you for the next step in your career?
Jimmy: My education at LSU was phenomenal and having accomplished researchers as teachers always ensured that the course material incorporated cutting edge research. Through my time in the Moroney Laboratory, I developed a better appreciation for scientific knowledge and a better understanding of how science actually operates. LSU also enabled me to grow as a leader through my roles in Student Government and various other organizations. These skills will prove invaluable in Medical School, and I believe LSU has not only prepared me, but has shaped the way I will think and act.
Favorite LSU Memory:
Jimmy: When I stormed the field with the rest of the Student Body after LSU beat Ole Miss during my freshman semester.
Gus Bates - Geology and Geophysics
Career Plans: Research with the Planetary Science Laboratory this summer and plans to attend graduate school in Fall 2019
What do you love most about geology?
Gus: I think geology is really cool because it can be applied to a lot of different things. I can study the origins of planets using it, and I can also determine the best place to build an apartment complex. I like being able to use what I know to solve different problems and geology is a science that is helpful in many different aspects of modern life. Since I'm especially interested in how planets form and what processes shaped the environments on them into what they are today, I've spent some time in my undergraduate career studying Mars in the Planetary Science Laboratory.
What is the craziest thing you have done for science?
Gus: 100% going to the LSU Geology and Geophysics Field Camp. Spending six weeks in the field with 40 other people that you "sort of" know and trying to foster a collaborative environment so you can graduate was pretty crazy.
How has LSU prepared you for the next step in your career?
Gus: My time at LSU has made me a better scientist and helped me mature as an individual. I think those two things are the most important characteristics for me to have going forward in my life.
Favorite LSU Memory:
Gus: My favorite memory is actually not something specific; it’s how I grew close to my classmates through all the tough courses that I had to take as an undergraduate. Through Mineralogy, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, and Field Camp, I made some great friends and had a lot of great experiences with them. Looking back on my time at LSU, that’s what stands out the most: how we all struggled with the workload but got through it together and how we all grew close because of it.
Veronica Rubio - Biological Sciences with a concentration in Secondary Education
Career Plans: Science Teacher at a Secondary School
Participated in the Geaux Teach Math and Science Program
- Student teacher at Woodlawn High School
- Recipient of the GEAUX Teach Award
How has LSU prepared you for the next step in your career?
Veronica: The LSU Geaux Teach Program has really prepared my for the next step in my career throughout all of my undergraduate studies. The Geaux Teach Program helped me learn about student-centered lessons, classroom management, implementing the 5E Lesson Plans, and accommodating to the new NGSS Science Standards. The Geaux Teach Program helped me identify that I had a real passion for educating young minds about the sciences.
LSU overall helped me become more outgoing, spontaneous, and to just have fun! I learned that you can always make friends anywhere you go regardless of your race or cultural background.
Craziest Thing for Science:
Veronica: Climbing into a dumpster to collect gently used cardboard boxes for my class.
Could you describe your typical day?
Veronica: In the afternoon, I teach four Biology 1 classes that consist of Great Scholars, Gifted and Academic 9th/10th grade students. I also help my mentor teacher teach AP Environmental Science. My favorite part of my "science" day is being able to see that "AH HA!" moment in my students eyes which lets me know that they actually understood a science topic.
Favorite LSU Memory:
Veronica: My favorite memory at LSU was living in the science majors dorm, Evangeline, during my freshman year and knowing that I wasn’t the only one that missed her family or that was scared to attend a class with 900 students. I will always remember the movie nights on the weekends and the late study sessions a few days prior to exams.
Advice:
Veronica: I think that even if you have never considered teaching as a career you should still try out the Geaux Teach Programs introductory course, “Step 1: Inquiry Approaches to Math and Science Teaching (BASC 2010). It counts as an elective for all majors. It is a fun hands on class that is easy to take for incoming freshmen. Students get to actually teach one small lesson within an elementary classroom setting. I always encourage everyone to take this class because you never really know if you'll love or hate teaching.
Benjamin Lane - Physics and Astronomy
Career Plans: Ph.D. in Physics with Dr. Nergis Mavalvala at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to continue his research with LIGO
Undergraduate Researcher:
- Quantum optomechanics with Dr. Thomas Corbitt
Detector commissioning at the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) Livingston
Outstanding Undergraduate Presentation Award at the American Physical Society (APS) April Meeting (Special thanks to LSU Discover for supporting his conference travel!)
Benjamin: I first visited LIGO in 2006 as part of a school field trip and have been interested ever since. It was a presentation by graduate student Jonathan Cripe that really opened my eyes to the cool and exciting world of quantum optics (and how important it is to LIGO!).
What do you love most about your research with LIGO?
Benjamin: My favorite thing about working on quantum optics as part of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration is that I get to investigate and explore the smallest scales of energy where quantum mechanics dominates in order to improve our ability to detect gravitational waves (which requires an absolutely massive amount of energy, turns out space-time doesn't like being stretched).
Could you describe your typical day?
Benjamin: My typical day begins with working in the quantum optomechanics lab in the basement of Nicholson Hall adjusting optics, aligning setups, and a healthy dose of troubleshooting the various experimental issues that are bound to pop up. Often times I'll work on simulating our optical setup in MATLAB to try and further understand the expected behavior of our setup. I follow that with classes (and try and squeeze in lunch), then try to beat traffic so I can head over to the LIGO Livingston site where I work in the control room getting to work directly on the best gravitational wave detector in the world. My work there consists of examining the current sensitivity of LIGO and exploring ways in which various noise sources can be reduced or cancelled. As it sounds, working on campus and in Livingston quickly fills up a schedule, so depending on what else is going on I may only do one or the other, but an ideal day has both.
How has LSU prepared you for the next step in your career?
Benjamin: Honestly, it’s the fantastic staff and faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy that’s best prepared me for graduate school. The professors are not only experts in their areas of research preparing me on that front, but they are all dedicated to being the best teachers and imparting an enthusiasm for physics that is unavoidably contagious.
Advice:
Benjamin: My biggest advice for any first-year student interested in physics (or any area of science really) is to talk to professors, graduate students, and even senior undergrads about their research. Just go up and ask them "Do you mind telling me about your research?" Every one of them is passionate about it and understands that you are new in the field, so will gladly explain it in whatever way you best understand. Beyond just learning about various research areas in the department, it'll help you find what interests you the most. Keep talking to those professors whose research interests you and when you feel comfortable, ask them if they have any opportunities for you to get involved. I certainly wish I'd have gotten involved in research sooner!
Zachary Patrick Bradshaw - Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy (double major)
Career Plans: Ph.D. in Mathematics at Tulane University and aspires to be a professor in Mathematics
What do you love most about your field(s) of study?
Zachary: My grandfather gave me a book called "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene, which got me interested in physics. The challenge associated to understanding the complex ideas presented in the book really captured my attention and ultimately lead to my majoring in physics. Though I love mathematics in its own right, I originally chose to double major in it for its close relationship to physics. I'd have to say the thing I love most about my field of science is its elegance. The way mathematics so beautifully models physical phenomenon intrigues me.
Why did you choose LSU?
Zachary: The most rewarding aspect of pursuing a science degree at LSU was the ability to work with so many great professors. They genuinely care about helping you achieve your goals. I chose LSU because it had the best physics department in the state.
Science Role Model:
Zachary: Stephen Hawking. Despite his overwhelmingly crippling disability, he managed to make huge contributions to physics that will never be forgotten.
Blog post contributor: Meredith Keating, College of Science communications graduate assistant