Major: Biology
Why did you choose your major?
I chose my major because I knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field but I was not sure exactly what I wanted to do. Majoring in biology, there are endless routes that you can go with it, and it made me feel more at ease not being boxed into a certain career based on my major. I also knew that majoring in Biology at a smaller school could optimize my opportunities to build my resume and become a more competitive applicant for graduate school.
Would you recommend it to a future student? Why?
I would highly recommend being a biology major, especially at Cal Lutheran. There are so many different opportunities that you can choose and you have available due to the smaller number of students that go here. You can get extra help and this is important when you are in such a rigorous major. Biology is not as difficult when you have professors who are so eager to help you understand the content you are given.
I have been given 2 jobs just through the connections I have made with my professors. The professors in this department are so willing to help you get to where you want to be after your undergraduate. You also are able to go through each of your classes with the same group of people and by your senior year, my classmates have felt like family.
What are your future plans?
My future plans are to get my masters in genetic counseling. Genetic counselors investigate individuals and family histories and help them navigate through the odyssey that is the discovery of a genetic trait. I am currently going through the application process and I will find out if I made it into a master’s program in late April.
Are there any particular experiences — in or out of the classroom — that have helped you identify that path?
Being a part of the Cal Lutheran community has felt like a family and I wanted a career where I could get to know my patients on a deeper level. My research experience under the mentorship of Dr. Marcey has especially influenced this decision and deepened my passion for genetics.
I have worked in my university’s genetics research lab since January of 2022 and it has provided me with the skills to investigate more deeply how genes can be regulated and modified, as well as the importance of understanding how mutations can impact an organism. I was awarded the Swenson Summer Research Fellowship where I could present my work at the annual student research symposium. My project mapped the genomic position of a novel transgene in Drosophila melanogaster and examined the effects of known modifiers of heterochromatization on transgene expression. This experience allowed me to have a better understanding of the implications for gene regulation and genome engineering.
Allison is a 2022 Swenson Science Summer Research Fellowship recipient. With her faculty mentor, David Marcey, PhD, she worked on a project titled, “Using Recombination to Map the white+ (PS) transgene locus on the 3rd chromosome in Drosophila melanogaster.”