I’ve always been interested in politics, and I like to be involved in my community. I’m a school board member in my hometown and I make the 3 ½-hour trip once a month for meetings. Here, I’ve been with the �ֲ���ý Democrats and the �ֲ���ý College Student Government all four years.

Last year I was elected Student Government president. Our most challenging issue is disbursing $300,000 among the more than 100 student clubs. Our decision has a direct impact on the community. That’s one of the most interesting things about �ֲ���ý: we have a voice in important matters affecting students’ lives and the college’s future.

I’m a politics major. Two summers ago I apprenticed with Professor John Baughman, conducting research for his book on the development of Congress. Last summer I interned in Washington, D.C. for Maine Congressman Mike Michaud. They had me doing a lot of writing. The only other intern who did that much writing was another �ֲ���ý student, Michael Petrick ’09. That’s when it hit me how �ֲ���ý, by challenging us to write at a high level, prepares us for the real world.

Read more about career services at �ֲ���ý:

www.bates.edu/career.xml

I received a Hughes Faculty-Student Research grant to work with Pam Baker, an associate professor of biology and biological chemistry. We spent eight weeks studying genes that contribute to alveolar bone loss and gingivitis. We compared gene expressions in infected and uninfected mice, and we came to the conclusion that some people with “good” genes can go without brushing their teeth and never get gingivitis, while others can brush all they want and still get it. It is a preventable disease, but some people are more susceptible to it.

It was a lot of work, but it was fun — and I got paid! I took full advantage of all the resources in Carnegie Science Hall, which has incredible laboratory equipment that many big universities don’t even have. At the end, my research partner, Lauren Okano ’11, and I presented our findings at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor. Of all the college presentations given, ours used the most in-lab, original research.

I’m enjoying it here. I’m majoring in biochemistry and Chinese and minoring in economics. I feel fortunate to have financial aid, so I’m taking a broad range of classes — as many as I can! The teachers are available when you need them, and all the resources are right here on campus. �ֲ���ý is a great school. It’s up to you to take advantage of it.

I wanted to explore the possibility of a career in oncology, so I applied to the undergraduate clinical research program at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City. For ten weeks I was involved in metastatic prostate cancer research at one of the oldest and largest cancer research facilities in the world. I wrote portions of a research article manuscript on the use of the Bone Scan Index for determining cancer progression and predicting overall survival. I also assembled and managed a PET scan database comparing different imaging procedures for detecting disease. I spent two weeks doing inpatient rounds, which was a very enlightening experience. A Ladd Internship through the �ֲ���ý Office of Career Services provided the funds that allowed me to live in New York City. A Scher Fellowship further offset my costs.

I learned so much about the biology of cancer, but as a psychology major and pre-med student, I’m also interested in its psychological impact. That’s where my internship ties into my senior thesis: I’m analyzing data regarding distress levels and psychosocial needs of newly diagnosed cancer patients for the Patrick Dempsey Center at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

The opportunity to do undergraduate research is awesome. It should give me a leg up when I apply to medical school, but it also inspired me to engage in clinical research for a few years first.

We had two courses. “Mathematics Across Time and Cultures” gave a broad spectrum of math history, including the Babylonian base 60 system, which was completely different from any mathematics I’ve ever done. For “Forensic Chemistry,” we analyzed a fictitious crime — a woman who had died of arsenic poisoning — and examined clues to determine who was guilty.

I came to �ֲ���ý with an interest in biology and pre-med studies, but I’ve found that I want to bring psychological elements into my science studies, so I am a psychology major. I’m particularly interested in researching children’s development.

I was born in Vietnam. My parents sacrificed a lot to bring us to America to get a good education. I’m living between two cultures, home and school. �ֲ���ý helped a lot with my transition to college life, and now I enjoy helping other new students. I work in Admissions as a diversity outreach coordinator, planning programs to increase the diversity of �ֲ���ý’ student population and recruiting multicultural students. I tell them about the things that have impressed me about �ֲ���ý, such as the financial aid package, which is very good, and the accessibility of the professors.

Hear students share thoughts on four years at �ֲ���ý:

www.bates.edu/student-voices.xml

Debate gives you criteria for framing your ideas. It allows you think critically and get straight to the issue. The skills are applicable in all of your classes, in writing papers and framing theses and in everyday life.

Typically only ten percent of our incoming members have previous debate experience. At the beginning of each year, there is an emphasis on preparing novices for their first tournament. Most are ready to compete within a week, and they are working independently with little oversight within a few months. Some of our most successful debaters had no experience prior to joining the team.

�ֲ���ý has the resources to send more people internationally than just about any of the schools we regularly compete against. Every year we send teams to World Championships, which was in Bangkok last year and Cork, Ireland, this year. As a freshman, I traveled to California for a debate at Stanford. During my sophomore year I debated at Newcastle and Durham, England, and I attended the World Championships in Vancouver as a judge. That degree of travel is atypical even for �ֲ���ý, but many team members will travel internationally before they graduate.

Read about the history of debate at �ֲ���ý:

www.bates.edu/debate-history.xml