I have a Bachelors of Science in Biology, and am currently taking upper level biology classes and some graduate classes. I plan on pursing a Master's Degree in Biology at WKU-O.

 

 

I have always liked school and love to learn new things; therefore, attending college was always a given for me. I graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College and applied to medical school. After my interview at the University of Louisville, they informed me that I would need to take more upper-level biology classes to be seen as more competitive. At that point, I applied and was accepted to WKU. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at this college and hope to graduate with a second degree from here.

 

 

I am a goal driven person who strives to learn something new every day. I think that school is a way to broaden our knowledge, while better preparing us for a better future. I am the first person in my family to attend college, so I see school and a career as a way to better myself. My motivation is to succeed in becoming a person that will be able to support not only myself, but also a future family.

 

 

I recently won an award at the Student Research Conference that occurred at the Western Bowling Green campus. I won an award for the Best Graduate Paper in the Natural Sciences Session. I presented recent research that I conducted about the enzyme telomerase. It is an enzyme that becomes active in cancer cells allowing cancer to divide an infinite number of times.  There has been a great deal of work on telomerase in the past with regards to a possible cancer treatment.  The research I conducted focused on this.  I traced the ancestral origin of telomerase with hopes of finding a way to modify telomerase to cause it to become less functional.  This would cause it to function less in cancer cells, while maintaining a basal level of function in the cells of our body that require the enzyme.  I think that this information could help lead to a possible cancer therapeutic.   I presented the research in the form of a power point in a Natural Science session for graduate students. 

As I mentioned before, I have applied to medical school. I am applying again in June with hopes of starting at U of L in August of 2013. I would like to end up specializing in the field of cardiology. In the meantime, I am hoping to complete a Master's degree at WKU-O. I am currently attempting to get everything figured out financially so that I may continue taking classes.

 

 

I am originally from a small town in Webster County. I moved here to attend college and haven't left. I currently work on Cardiac Stepdown at the hospital here in Owensboro. This helped me decide that cardiology was a perfect fit. I love helping people who are sick and participating in their care. It is a very fulfilling and rewarding job.