Spring 2018

Focusing on Cultivating Scientists

inF O C U SAlumni Catch-Up

Thank You!!

Washburn High School Outreach

FOCUS Research Gala!!

And More!!!

Regional SACNAS

Farewell,Seniors

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inFOCUS is designed to celebrate student achievements, acknowledge diverse experiences, and connect

students across cohorts. If you see someone featured in this newsletter, say hi, reach out, make a friend. If you have an experience or perspective you

would like to share, please contact Ernesto Polania-Gonzalez or David

Higgs, FOCUS Coordinators, about getting your story inFOCUS.

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“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

— Maya Angelou

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Farewell, Seniors

Second Annual FOCUS Research Gala

Alumni Catch-UpKayla Toney ‘17

Washburn High School Outreach

FOCUS Students Recognized at Honors Convocation

University of Chicago Regional SACNAS Confernece

Alumni Catch-UpRaul Norguera-McElroy ‘17

Mind Over Matter - Reflection of Tepper Gill’s Talk at St. Olaf

FOCUS Scholar HighlightSara Saintil ‘21

Alumni Catch-UpElissa Koele ‘17

Meet the New FOCUS Coordinator

A Massive Thank You

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Farewell, Seniors!!!!Congratulations to the FOCUS 2018 cohort, led by Sam Patterson, on yourgraduation!! We will miss every single one of you. Below is a short description of what they will be doing next year:

Wisdom Akpan - Chemistry Yeah I’m definitely going to be working in Science or business cause I don’t really have the skillset for anything else. As for where that’ll happen and for whom well that’s all up in the air. I’ll do the grad school thing in a few years.

Lisa Au - ChemistryI’m not sure what I will be doing after but hopefully finding a job in San Francisco. I’m considering data analyst types of roles but still open to jobs that are more chemistry related/in a lab setting, maybe finding an overlap between the two.

Olubusayo Bolonduro - Chemistry/Biochem/SpanishI’m going to be doing cancer genomics research at Harvard! I’ll be working in the Kadoch lab for 2 years before most likely pursuing a PhD in genomics (or possibly an MD-PhD instead).

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Miguel Rincon Cervantes - Biology Next year I will work as the Gould Library Evening Supervisor, so I will still be in Northfield!

Diana Delgado - Asian StudiesNext year, I will be teaching English in Shizuoka, Japan with the JET program. I’m looking forward to teaching, something I’ve enjoyed during my time at Carleton, as well as expanding my knowledge of Japanese!

Victor Huerta - American Studies/BiochemI’ll be doing a year-long fellowship with PULSE Pittsburgh starting in August. I’ll be working for a nonprofit and living in anintentional community with the other fellows doing the program.

David Higgs - Physics It’s a secret! To find out, go to page 32.

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Phuong Nguyen - Chemistry/BiochemI will be working as a research technician at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard under the division of Infectious Diseases. My project will be based on the investigation latent tuberculosis strains. I hope to apply to M.D./Ph.D. programs after working in this lab.

Valentine Purell - Political ScienceI am not certain what I will be doing next year, but that’s what the summer is for, right?

Sabrina Velasco - Psychology/NeuroscienceI plan on obtaining a job as a medical scribe for my gap years (2 years) before applying to physician assistant programs.

Michael Vue - CAMS I don’t exactly know what I am doing next year, but I am looking to find a position where I can combine my passion for computer science and cinema.

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Elizabeth Zheng - BiologyI am not sure what I am doing next year, but I am looking for research positions that deal with the molecular mechanisms by which proteins get translocated across membranes!

Let’s play a game: draw an arrow from the FOCUS student to the flag of the country they are studying abroad in next Fall term!

Alex Cardenas

Sam Cooke

Kayle Spikes

Sam Anderson

Isabel Olsen

Jacob Bransky

Serena Moseley

Cecily Choy

Nof Babajide

Micahel Gasoir

If you have no idea where to start, ask these students yourself! Bonus points if you can guess the city!

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On May 28th, 2018, the FOCUS cohorts gathered in Weitz 138 for the second annual FOCUS Research Gala. At this event, the first and second year cohorts presented the work they were doing this academic year.

The first-year cohorts, led by Dani Kohen and Eric Egge, explored the impact of active ingredients in mosquito repellant on zebrafish development. Briefly, the first year cohorts collected and analyzed their data during Winter term, and during Spring term, they were responsible for preparing a poster, a paper, and a presentation for the Research Gala. The details surrounding their project are featured in Winter term’s edition of the inFOCUS Newsletter, so for more information regarding the experiment, please refer back to that article.

Below are some picutres of the event:

EVENTSecond Annual FOCUS Research Gala

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The second-year cohort spent the entire year focusing - pun intended - on waste at Carleton. Specifically, they created a journal which highlights waste at Carleton College. This journal explores many of the different modes of waste, including compost, recycling and landfill through direct interviews, surveys, and literature. Beyond that, the second year cohort explores other avenues of waste generation, such as electronic waste, construction waste, and chemical waste. Because many in this cohort ended up declaring psychology, the psychological factors regarding waste were of great interest. By understanding the various waste and attitudes, the sec-ond-year cohort hopes to understand, and infulence, people’s perspectives on waste and their personal contributions. For more information, look for the journal on the FOCUS website!

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Alumni Catch - UpKayla Toney - Optics and Photography

Where did you grow up? Phew… Long story. Born and Raised in California. Moved to Mississippi when I was in middle school. Went to high school in Mississippi and Memphis, TN. When I left for Carleton, my mom moved to Dallas. My freshman summer, my mom decided to move to Houston. So I call Houston my home.

What did you study at Carleton (major, interests, etc.)? I created my own major, Photography and Optics. I was interest-ed in physics and art and I wanted to combine those two. I kinda found out last minute I was really interested in philosophy. So I am still reading about concepts and stuff like that. Oh yeah, I was a course away from being a Chinese major. The Chinese language is very close to my heart.

What are you doing now? I am (still) on a Weitz Fellowship working for Urban League of Nebraska! ULN is a nonprofit that is “Empowering Communities. Changing Lives”. We are an affiliate that is part of a huge group called National Urban League. I am a marketing specialist, which means I make sure that our presence and story is out there in the community! I also help write grants as well.

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How did you decide to do what you’re doing now and what helped you along the way? I decided to become an art conservator my senior year of college, but I also had interests in helping local communities so I thought the nonprofit track was the way to go. Also, a guaranteed job right after Carleton? Heck, I was lucky! I am glad I got this opportunity to work for Urban League of Nebraska.

How did Carleton prepare you for your current experience?Uhm, I learned from my social experience at Carleton, that I am able to work with various minds. I know at Carleton, most of us believe we all think alike, but we don’t, and that is okay. I am glad I learned how to communicate with people in different settings. Basically, I learned what to do and what not to do in a workplace setting. That is something I didn’t think Carleton would have taught me, haha! But yeah… At Urban League and I am assuming in every workplace, I don’t work with like-minded people. We all want the same outcome, but how we get to that result is different and I like to hear what people think is the best way to get there!

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What are you planning on doing next year? I am going to stay in Omaha to prepare for art conservation school. I still don’t know what that will look like, but I can tell you it means I need to take four chemistry classes. I hope to still work at a nonprofit that really wants to empower the community, especially the LGBTQIA+ community and the Black community.

What is your favorite memory from FOCUS and Carleton? Two things: my FOCUS advisor, and graduation. My advisor, Professor Gross showed me I was allowed to find interest in many topics! And I wouldn’t have gotten that advice if I wasn’t at Carleton/in FOCUS. Graduation I almost teared up because seeing the FOCUS group I was with for four years making big moves in their lives… well it was just wholesome to see that!

What advice would you give students about life at Carleton and life after Carleton?Life at Carleton? Well whatever you expected freshman year, throw that in the trash. Sounds bad, but what I am trying to say is that Carleton won’t cater to you or what you think Carleton actually is. Once I realised that Carleton is like any other college, I was free with what I did there, and I wasn’t stressing about “Well, Carleton is like this!” when Carleton was doing the opposite. I hope that makes sense… Carleton is a college. You learn and grow there. So do that!

As for after Carleton… Well I am adopting the ideology, ‘one day at a time’. I am young. We are all still young. and I keep on rushing myself to get into school and achieve

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my goals. However you feel about time, it is good to realise things take time. Short or Long, it takes time. And I am trying to live life day by day and just prepare myself for anything that will happen!

Anything else you would like to add?With everything I said (especially my advice), it all depends on who you are as a person. Just make sure you are making decisions for yourself, not because someone told you to do it, just live life for you. Also, what is super important is that anything is possible! I graduated with a degree in Photography and Optics, but I am doingsomething outside of those fields!

Event Washburn High School Outreach!

Katie Murphy-Olsen, an instructor for students in English as a Second Language (ESL) courses at Washburn High School, invited students from various Carleton College departments to speak about college life and their various paths to college, and FOCUS readily responded to the request. On May 24, three FOCUS students and their coordinator, who is a FOCUS alumnus, commuted to Minneapolis to engage with the ESL students. Upon entering the school, a number of the FOCUS students were pleasantly surprised by the great diversity and integration of the students at Washburn and of the many languages that were spoken within a span of minutes as it differed from the typical Carleton environment and—for some—

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from their high school. The difference in demographics was welcomed by the FOCUS students and it positively challenged their perspective of Minnesota and the America high school experience. Upon entering the classroom, the FOCUS students introduced themselves and spoke on their motivations for pursuing higher education. The shared themes of being a first-generation college student and/or American and bilingual helped to build rapport between the FOCUS and ESL students and provided an opportunity for the FOCUS students to change the passive, “talking-at-you” nature of the presentation to a more interactive and engaging presentation. Moreover, as the FOCUS students shifted the attention from themselves to the student—by asking the students about their imagined futures—it sparked conversations on topics that the Washburn students were more interested in, such as financing college, mitigating language barriers, and balancing time and family commitments. In the end, both the FOCUS and Washburn students mutually benefitted from the short time they were together. The FOCUS students were able to reflect, through the students, about their progression to and through college and about their assumptions of Minnesota and the typical high school experience, and the Washburn students were able to gain genuine, non-promotional insights on college life and, hopefully, see themselves in the FOCUS students.

This article was written by Jessica Makori ‘19,pictured to the right.

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FOCUS Students Recognized at Honors Convocation

Mortar BoardPhuong Nguyen

Sigma Xi Wisdom AkpanLisa Au Olubusayo Bolonduro

Minnesota Space Grant Consortium AwardMeritxell ColetSerena Mosely

Scott Tyler Bergner Prize Phuong Nguyen

Mike Ewers Award from the Minnesota Space Grant ConsortiumDaniel Kupetsky

David John Field Prize Wisdom Akpan

Mary Wiese Endowed Prize Diana Delgado Victor Huerta

Andrea Grove Iseminger ‘59 Fund for Off-Campus StudiesAli Ali Andrew Farias Maria Morcos Maxime MunyeshyakaSara Saintil Shealuck Vang

Carleton Summer Science Fellowship Henock Befekadu Kyle Duplessis Thais del Rosario Hernandez Kevin Tran

Congratulations!!

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The University of Chicago hosted the first annual Regional SACNAS Conference, an amazing day jam-packed with inspiring and engaging programing for current undergrads, graduate students, and professionals in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. SACNAS celebrates STEM diversity by combining cutting-edge science with training, mentoring, and cultural activities to provide a powerful and unforgetable professional experience. This year 12 FOCUS members, and chemistry Professor Dani Kohen attended the SACNAS conference, held at the University of Chicago. Through the North Star STEM Alliance, funded by the NSF’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant program, and with funding from the College, all Carleton and FOCUS students were fully funded for travel and conference fees. Check out how this event impacted FOCUS members on the next pages.

University of Chicago

Regional SACNAS

The Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science

Pictured from left to right: (top row): Ernesto Polania-Gonzalez, Edgar Felix, Joy Onyeanu, Lon Hutchinson, Kleyder Sanchez, Daniel Quinero, Maria Morcos, Denyse Marquez Sanchez, Diana Augustin, Sonia Moreno, Maddie Kyhl, Jessica Makori. (Front row): Christina Roman, Isaac Martinez, Selina Loya

Event

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Often times there is a drive to separate personal and academic life. It is seen, for example, in the interplay between religious identities and professional spheres, an institutional demand that any religious views be left outside the classroom door. A similar dichotomy is at risk for narratives of racial and social diversity, in which individuals, particularly marginalized groups, might attempt to downplay or “pack up” their identities in order to appear more acceptable to the academic setting. It is important to realize, though, that whatever individual aspect might be at play, whether it be racial, social, or religious in nature, cannot be separated from the personhood of the agent nor the academic practice. A push for diversity within academia should not be made through lenses of positive review and prestige for the institution at hand, but rather through lenses of achieving diversity of thought which our identities bring to the table. Who we are, what we experience, and what we believe shape our thought and the ways in which we go about life. It is frequent when I find myself attempting to push my heritage and identity down within an academic set-ting. The Midwest Regional SCANAS conference, though, reminded me of the importance of my experiences and my individuality, regardless of what practice I am involved in. Now that I am back at Carleton and life has “return to nor-mal,” thinking back to my SACNAS experience serves as a reminder to be proud of my heritage and to realize that the ways in which my thought process might differ from that of my fellow colleagues improves the rigor and quality of the overall academic work.

I enjoyed this trip to UChicago for the Midwest Regional SACNAS conference. The speakers were inspiring, the food was bountiful, but my favorite part was connecting with others during the small group discussion at the Im-poster Syndrome talk. I was able to meet individuals from all walks of life: whether they were first years in undergrad like myself, in the midst of their graduate research, or mentoring graduate students in their endeavors, I enjoyed talking to each and every one of them.

Daniel Quintero 2020

Cognitive Science

Maddie Kyhl2021

Undeclared

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Joy Onyeanu2021

Undeclared

My experience at the 2018 Regional SACNAS Conference was inspiring. I learned about how to network, what to look for in a mentor, and the importance of my presence and participation in STEM as an African-American Women. The conference emphasized the importance of building and strengthening my cultural community everywhere I go, having research exposure, knowing mechanisms to deal with issues unique to my identity group, maintaining inspiration to continue my career in STEM, cultivating Ideas about how I will achieve my next goals, and not being afraid to reach out for guidance along the way. We are the future of STEM. We will be the driving force to create a diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment not only for ourselves but for the ones coming after us.

Attending the UC Sacnas conference was an enjoyable and educational experience in many ways. During the conference itself, my mind was opened to the possibility of pursuing an academic career in computer science. Specifically, I was amazed the talk on AI and the cosmos, as I was able to see a lot of the research topics that I’ve worked on, including big data, be used in a completely novel and unique way. I especially enjoyed the provosts talk-- I found it truly exceptional and inspirational, and I wish I had heard this talk when I first entered college. This talk, along with the workshop on imposter syndrome. made me reflect on and think positively about my own achievements and abilities, and I returned to Carleton with a new sense of confidence in my strengths, and made me think about graduate school as a real possibility. Although I gained a lot of from this conference, one of the things I enjoyed the most was getting to network with other students. I got to bond with the grad students I was staying with and they gave me some very valuable advice. Furthermore, the friendships that I formed with the other FOCUS students who also went on this trip are priceless.

Sonia Moreno2019

Computer Science

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I had an amazing time attending the Midwest Regional SACNAS Conference at University of Chicago (UChicago). Some highlights of the conference would have to be the workshops that I took part in mostly because they were very interactive and interesting. My favorite workshop would have to be Dealing with Imposter Syndrome presented by clinical psychologist Dr. Adia Gooden because I realized there that I, on some level, deal with imposter syndrome and thanks to the workshop I now have methods to handle this new-found syndrome. I also really enjoyed hearing from two of the keynote speakers, Dr. Brian Nord and Dr. Regina Dix-on-Reeves, during lunch and dinner time, respectively. Their talks were extremely inspiring and thought provoking with Dr. Nord talking about Artificial Intelligence and its application to space observation and Dr. Reeves using the characteristics of Sequoia trees to inspire us to be better people. Beyond the conference, my experience was still amazing. The city of Chicago is beautiful as the downtown area is similar to my own city’s downtown, Houston, TX and the UChicago campus was aesthetically pleasing especially since it all appeared to be, as Dr. Reeves put it, like a castle. Even with the schedule of the conference, time was still found to explore the campus and downtown area alike. To reiterate, I enjoyed my time at this event and I highlyrecommend for others to attend events similar to this one.

The regional SACNAS conference reminded me that I should not perceive my identity as a weakness in my pursuit of a STEM career but as something empowering. Getting to know people who had a similar background as me and yet are striving in their fields was inspiring. In addition, I received valuable information about graduate school and methods of finding research opportunities. I had never attended a science conference before so seeing and learning about different research project was very exciting to me.

Kleyder Sanchez2021

Undeclared

Denyse Marquez Sanchez

2021Undeclared

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I really enjoyed the Regional SACNAS Conference at University of Chicago. It was a wonderful and really motivated experience, being part of a group full of people passionate about science as am I. Even though I really enjoyed the talk about Artificial Intelligence and the speaker really connected with the audience I believe my favorite talk was about the Sequoias Trees. I really connected with the speaker and could genuinely see her success for being a person of color and still striving for more in the science field. I learned that I need to grow during the hard times and stand up for what I believe in, no matter the circumstances or what irrelevant people have to say, I will succeed. My time at Chicago was really fun, after the tiring but helpful and fun conference I enjoyed the weather and good food in town. Overall, such weekend was a success besides having to think about homework, or how not to lose one of your classmates, or not sleeping for hours, I really liked it and was happy with the outcome.

Here are some pictures from the event:

Edgar Felix2021

Undeclared

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Alumni Catch - Up Raul Noguera-McElroy Political Science

Where did you grow up? I grew up in Taos, New Mexico. I moved from Los Angeles, California, to Taos when I was eightyears old.

What did you study at Carleton (major, interests, etc.)? I studied political science at Carleton, although I did a brief stint as an economics major. Outside of those, I really enjoyed classes I took in the religion department with Michael McNally and Asuka Sango and the American Studies class I took with Adriana Estill! Outside of classwork, my interests included playing chess competitively. I played with the Carleton College Chess Club from my freshman year until my Senior year! I was also involved in the Mental Health Awareness Collective! We hosted Break the Silence, an annual event where students share their experiences with mental health

What are you doing now?I am currently working at Nebraska Appleseed as the Weitz Fellow. My official title is that of Weitz Fellow, but my work aligns closely to what most people consider a community organizer to be. I work to build connections with Nebraskans in Lincoln (and Omaha) to advocate on issues related to healthcare access and economic justice.

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How did you decide to do what you’re doing now and what helped you along the way? The decision to get to where I am at took several years. I was sitting in FOCUS colloquiums and other science classes during my freshman and sophomore years and realized that my favorite aspects of those projects were always how that work related to polit-ical advocacy. Example, when our FOCUS year did work on air quality at public schools in Northfield, my favorite part of the project was thinking about how to present that information to officials and how to get Northfield residents involved.

How did Carleton prepare you for your current experience?Carleton really helped me prepare for my current work by connecting me with the internship opportunities that would help me develop the skills I would need to succeed. I interned at the Family Defense Center (which protects mothers who are wrongly accused of crimes), the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and TakeAction Minnesota. These internships, particularly at the Department of Education, helped me explore interest in advocacy and legal fields.

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What are you planning on doing next year? I will be attending law school at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this fall! I don’t have a specific subject area of legal work in mind, but I know I want to do public interest work that focuses on litigation, much like what Nebraska Appleseed does. I am particularly excited for the investment Michigan puts into students who are interested in public interest work. I want to throw some advice here on graduate school applications: It’s okay if you don’t get into the first-choice school on your first time; it took me two tries. Pick a school that accepts you AND that you want to attend.

What is your favorite memory from FOCUS and Car-leton? My favorite memory of Carleton happened during my sopho-more year. In De-cember of 2015, five Carleton students, myself included, trav-eled to Brownsville, Texas to compete in the Pan-American Collegiate [chess] tournament. U.S.).

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We played against teams across the country (and even teams not from the U.S.). We ended up earning the best small school award at the tournament, beating out the previous team, who had held the title for several years.

What advice would you give students about life at Carleton and life after Carleton?I don’t really have a ton of advice outside of pursuing a career path / interest path that excites you! As cliché as it sounds, it’s really important to do, even if it takes you outside of the scope of FOCUS. I was so grateful that when I expressed interest in pursuing a major outside of FOCUS’ scope, Deborah was incredibly supportive and did what she could to connect me to resources that would help me.

Special Thanks!

As we wrap up another fantastic year, FOCUS would love to thank the many individuals and offices who made our programming possible, who showed up to our events, and who supported us or our students in any way. (If you’re wondering, YES, this includes YOU!)

Special thanks go to Eric Egge, Dani Kohen, Gretchen Hofmeister, Debby Walser-Kuntz, Randy Hagen, Amy Csizmar-Dalal, Kathy Evertz, Alex Miller, Sam Cooke, Kevin Tran, the FOCUS Mentors and Scholars, Ernesto Polania-Gonzalez, and last but certainly not least, Deborah Gross! FOCUS runs on your energy, enthusiasm, and care.

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“If you can do everything well,” Tepper L Gill asserts, “you will always be in demand.” In sharing life advice for aspiring STEM-ticians, Gill advised students to find themselves in the various fields they wished to pursue. “If you love it, then it will come easier, and then you find more about yourself,” he said. While this is true of any subject matter, I have found this to be especially true in my own experience with STEM classes. At first, the subject material can appear daunting and intimidating. Even when I complete problem sets or try to understand a new concept, it can remain eerily mundane. This feeling can go away though. Gill argues that this feeling doesn’t get better without a change in mindset. Instead of completing a set of problems with an accompanying feeling of dread, it would do better to convince your mind that you love whatever you are doing.

Mind Over Matter — Tepper L. Gill Talks About the “Things [He] Wished Someone Had Told [Him]” at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN

Event

“Your brain is the most powerful supercomputer there ever was,” Gill said. With this knowledge, he argued, one has the power to change their mentality about a particular subject to not only love that subject, but to find out more about oneself. In this way, we can always learn and develop to find out more about our Dr. Tepper L. Gill

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interesting selves and our expansive talents; that is the origin of mathematics, Gill argues. Mathematics started off as a means for humans to barter. When more sophisticated means of measuring were needed to predict the seasons, that was when humans looked to the stars for calculations of the astronomical level. The need for probability came about through gambling… and statistics came about when planning to use the best land for growing crops. All this to say that when confronted with a difficult problem, humans have used numbers, in various forms, to solve it, Gill argues. Individuals will continue to use numbers to solve their problems, but it is only when coupled with feelings of love and excitement for the subject material that the numbers be used in revolutionary ways.

- This article was writtien by Maddie Kyhl, pictured to the right:

Tepper Gill earned all three of his degrees from Wayne State University- his B.S. in mathematics and physics (1966), his M.S. (1969) and his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics (1974). At Howard University, starting as an Assistant Professor in 1976, Dr. Gill was promoted to Associate Professor in 1981, and Professor in 1988. In 1987 he became the Chairman of the Department of Electrical Engineering. He has a joint appointment in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics.

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FOCUS Scholars HighlightEach term FOCUS Scholars attend lectures, talks, and conferences around campus to share their experience with the FOCUS community. Find more FOCUS Scholar write ups in the online inFOCUS Newsletter.

Read Sara Saintil’s (‘21) reflection from Dr. William D Phillips talk titled “Time, Einstein, and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe”

If I were to describe the talk I attended this week, I would give it two words – liquid nitrogen. With a very energetic spirit, William D. Phillips managed to capture his large audience that filled the Olin lecture hall with a number of different entertaining demonstrations utilizing the liquid nitrogen. One of these demonstrations included filling an empty water bottle with liquid nitrogen, placing it in a bucket filled with packing peanuts, and having a large pop of color 30 minutes into the presentation as the contents in the bottle boiled over causing the bottle to explode. This talk also involved a discussion on special relativity and its relation to the creation of atomic clocks. An aspect of the talk that I found very interesting was the discussion of atomic clocks and clock accuracy. I was intrigued by the concept that the rotation of the earth is slowed by certain aspects of the earth including tides, ocean currents, and storms. This is interesting as time is associated with the rotation of the earth, however with the earth being slowed down, are these changes reflected on our time? Are these changes in the speed of the earth’s rotation so small that they do not have an effect on our perception of time?

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Where did you grow up? I grew up in Prescott, which is a small town in western Wisconsin.

What did you study at Carleton (major, interests, etc.)? I majored in Psychology with a concentration in Neuroscience. While at Carleton I worked in two psychology labs: Ken Abrams’ panic disorder lab as well as Julie Neiworth’s tamarin cognition lab. In addition to my on-campus Helpdesk job, I also worked part-time in town at Three Links Care Center as a Certified Nursing Assistant.

What are you doing now?Currently, I am a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, MD a suburb of Washington D.C. I work in a vision lab lead by Dr. Leslie Ungerleider, the woman who differentiated the ventral/ dorsal visual streams. I myself work with primates, in a section of the lab attempting to discern areas of the brain used in statistical learning, as well as further explore facial recognition. Most of my day to day job lies in training my animals as well as collecting/analyzing fMRI data.

Alumni Catch - UpElissa Koele - Psychology with Neuroscience minor

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How did you decide to do what you’re doing now and what helped you along the way? As I neared the end of my Carleton career, I was not quite ready to make a decision one way or the other of going in to research or clinical work. Since I had already worked over 2000 hours as a CNA and had a pretty good idea of the clinical world, I decided to get a better look at what research would look like as a career. After working with Julie Neiworth and the tamarin lab, I knew that I had a passion for primates, so I began looking into post-bacc primate research opportunities, which led me to the NIH. The National Institutes of Health is the premier location for research of any kind, being at the forefront of scientific discovery, I knew that an experience here would be unmatched anywhere else. I applied to about four labs at the NIH and was contacted by the Laboratory of Brain and Cognition from NIMH.

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What is your favorite memory from FOCUS and Carleton? My favorite Carleton memory would have to be everything that happened senior spring term. Every spring was great but senior spring has a completely different feeling. My favorite FOCUS memory would definitely be sitting outside in the rain/snow/freezing weather with my cohort collecting air quality data at 7:30am for months. Although it was awful at the time, it was a lasting memory of getting to know one another and accomplishing a worthwhile study together.

How did Carleton prepare you for your current experience?As I interviewed I realized just how invaluable my research experience at Carleton was; being involved in two labs and writing an empirical comps was indispensable. Even though I did not have most of the practical skills of other students coming from large schools with larger labs and more equipment, my experience and understanding of experimental design was unique.

What are you planning on doing next year? I will be spending one more year here at the NIH and will be involved in some human vision studies as well as a few electrophysiology studies. Following that, I am planning on pursuing post-secondary education for a masters of physician assistant. I hope someday to go back to school and complete a Ph.D., but for now, I think clinical is best for me.

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What advice would you give students about life at Carleton and life after Carleton?I think the greatest advice I have to give students about life after Carleton is that there is no hurry. You don’t need to know exactly what you want to do, there is time to explore and experience life before ‘figuring it out’. You don’t need to go to graduate school right away, and the first decision you make doesn’t have to decide the rest of your life. So, take your time, feel a couple different things out before making a decision. No rush :)

Find out more about

Teaching as Learning Opportunities on the FOCUS Website through the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE Office)

Help solidify your knowledge - Teachhttps://apps.carleton.edu/focus/students/teachingaslearning/

&

34 - Winter 2018

Hi, I am David Higgs! I use He/Him/His pronouns. I am a senior physics major from Houston, Texas. Outside of science, my hobbies include reading, art/photography and making baked goods. In terms of music, I really love most musical genres so I am always looking for suggestions. I have recently been listening to Natalia Lafourcade and Brockhampton but few of my all-time favorites are Stevie Wonder, Adele, and Queen. At Carleton, I have been an RA for three years which has been fun. I am also a Posse Scholar and a Mellon Mays Fellow.

My last two summers I spent doing REUs. Two summers ago, I worked at Univesity of Chicago which was amazing because Chicago is super fun in the summer. Last summer I was at Univesity of California, Santa Barbara which was beautiful. The summer after my freshman year was a little less fun because I had to get surgery for a torn ACL and I volunteered for the rest of the summer once I got better. This upcoming summer I will be spending time in Portland, Houston, Austin and maybe Omaha visiting family and friends.

I am looking forward to working with the FOCUS program next year. I really enjoyed FOCUS back when I started it as a freshman three and half years ago and the program has only gotten better since. I really want to carry on the awesome work that Ernesto and Chloe have done. I want to help support all of y’all in your academics but also in your life at Carleton. I am also really excited to make y’all some really delicious baked goods! If y’all have any suggestions or advice then please send it to me. Or if have any ideas of thing y’all want to see more of next year let me know that too!

Cheers,David Higgs

Meet the New Coordinator, David Higgs!

Winter 2018 - 35

Hi FOCUS,

I have to be honest, you made my entire week when I opened the card signed by many of you the day of the FOCUS Ice Cream Social. This year I got to know many of the incredible and motivated students that make up this program. From Cookies and Conversation to winning at UNO, I had a blast this year. Thank you for allowing me to serve as the FOCUS Coordinator!!

Many of you have come to know me as the “FOCUS dad” with the charactaristically horrible dad jokes. I just have one thing to say to that; fair – thanks for putting up with it! As the nickname would suggest, I can’t leave without offerring a couple pieces of advice. First of all, know that every single one of you is capabable of achieving all of your academic and professional aspirations. You are here for a reason and you are intelligent. With that being said, the second piece of advice I have to offer is that you don’t have to do everything alone. Use those support systems you’ve built up. Carleton is hard enough to try and go at it alone. If you don’t have one quite yet, I encourage you to seek one out. Seek out out your peers, professors, or David next year; they are all great resources to get you through Carleton in one piece!

Thank you once again for a great year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me in the future. Shoot me an email at polaniae16@gmail.com, or just add me on Facebook if you want to stay in touch!

Best, Ernesto Polania-Gonzalez

36 - Winter 2018

Have a great Summer Break... You deserve it!

FOCUS has been supported financially by: -Carleton College-Howard Hughes Medical Institute-NSF through: -S-STEM grants (0850318 and 1565018) -North Star STEM Alliance, an NSF LSAMP alliance (1201983)