So many Wesleyan Women combine a degree in Biology with a strong liberal arts foundation that we're starting to wonder what can't you do with a degree in biology!
Wesleyan biology majors are consistently accepted into excellent graduate and professional schools, including medical school, and have gone on to fulfilling careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, research, teaching, and technical positions with private, state, and federal agencies.
Biology majors have unprecedented opportunities for using their undergraduate education in a wide variety of occupations. A liberal arts background equips biology majors with a unique perspective that makes them highly competitive for many professional opportunities. Wesleyan biology majors have chosen a wide variety of post-graduate options. Meet Ihunanya Mbata, a recent graduate and Wesleyan Woman of Science. We think she has a great story!
Ihunanya's classmates are already pursuing exciting careers also, like Abena Redwood '06 who double-majored in biology and chemistry. She chose to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Wanja Mwangi '06 is using her biology major to pursue a master’s degree at the School of Public Health at Ohio State University. Jennifer Kerr '04 also double-majored in biology and chemistry. Her diverse background serves her well in the Ph.D. program in microbiology at the University of Texas School of Biomedical Sciences. A graduate of the Class of 2003, Katharyn Hart, majored in biology and, while a student here, was a member of the Wesleyan College IHSA Equestrian Team. She is pursuing her love of animals at the University of California, Davis, Veterinary School.
Oluwatoyosi Fatunase '03 double-majored in biology and chemistry. Her undergraduate background made her an excellent candidate for medical school at Duke University. While Elsa George '02 is using her biology major in the nurse anesthetist program at Emory University. A graduate of the Class of 2002, Heidi Walker, combined her biology major with a minor in studio art and, after graduation, was accepted to dental school at the Medical College of Georgia. She graduated with a Doctor of Dental Science in 2006.
Amy Daniels '99 is using her Wesleyan degree in biology to study environmental concerns. After graduating, she studied in Central America and then worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In 2004, she graduated with highest honors with a master's in Interdisciplinary Ecology from University of Florida. While she pursued her master's degree, she received a Fulbright Award to conduct landscape ecology research in Costa Rica and was awarded UF's highest graduate fellowship to pursue her Ph.D. Amy then won a graduate fellowship from NASA to complete her Ph.D. and, believe it or not, ran into the Wesleyan "Spectacles" summer program campers at Marshall Space Center. She has spent much of 2007 in Costa Rica conducting her Ph.D. dissertation research with funding from NASA. Life is never dull for this Wesleyanne!
in 2011, Biology Major Kelly Russell was appointed supervisor of Southwestern New Mexico's Gila National Forest. She is 25-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service who has worked in Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Oklahoma, and California. Before accepting the leadership position with the Gila National Forest, Kelly was the deputy forest supervisor on the Klamath National Forest in northern California. Before that, she was Oklahoma district ranger on the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma. After graduating from Wesleyan, she attended graduate school in fisheries at Auburn University in Alabama and then served two years in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
After completing her first year at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wesleyan alumna Sylvia Gonsahn ‘06 admitted medical school is difficult but also said, "it was made more conquerable by the solid academic foundation I received from Wesleyan's biology department.” In addition to her graduate studies, Sylvia recently took advantage of an opportunity to participate in a month long research project in Liberia, West Africa working at the University of Liberia. Read her story.
Jessica Rowell’s future plans are big. The 2007 Wesleyan graduate is studying epidemiology at Emory University while working in the public health capital of the world. After she completes her graduate coursework and earns a Master’s of Science in Public Health in Epidemiology, she would like to work for the CDC or CARE. Once equipped with more experience in her field, she plans to improve healthcare access in rural areas of developing countries.
Right now she has her eye on Guatemala. Traveling with a Wesleyan study abroad program, she visited the country and saw many needed improvements. She has a deep appreciation for the strength and determination of the Mayan people, and she hopes to use what she learned at Wesleyan to return there and to set up health clinics in the smaller towns. These enormous ambitions despite her claim that just four years ago, when she arrived on the Wesleyan campus, she was not confident. Read her story!
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