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I like biology, because it's just an ever-evolving subject.
And there's so much you can learn about biological systems
and it's always changing.
It's highly fascinating.
I think it's just--
you learn a lot about life and the sort of things,
such as evolution, genetics.
These are some aspects that I think
are fascinating to anybody.
It is the science of the future.
So in the past we had physics, the century of physics.
Now it's the century of biology.
There's so much that we're learning.
Biology has always been my passion.
I've always loved the sciences all
through junior high and high school,
and so coming here and being into biology,
it was the obvious choice for me.
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I like Utah State because it's got the big college feel to it,
but then you get the attention that you
get at small colleges with smaller class sizes and more
one-on-one interactions with the teachers.
The Department of Biology is probably
one of the largest department on campus.
There are so many different areas
that people can get involved with.
I'm the first generation of my family to go to college,
so everything was a learning experience
and gradually learned how things work
and how to navigate around them.
And at this point in time, I think
that I've learned how to maximize the resources,
in a sense, as far as knowing what's available to me
and really help my growth as a student
and learning new things.
And there's a lot of opportunity.
They've got a lot of research going on
for undergraduate students.
There are so many available research opportunities
in the Department of Biology.
And it really helps you to grow as a person
and as an individual to learn more
and to be able to apply what you learn in the classroom
to life and to research.
The fact that they take their undergraduates so seriously.
For example, the laboratory I work
with with Dr. DeWald, the expectations he
has from his undergraduates are pretty much the same
as the grad students.
And I find that very rewarding as an undergraduate.
If you can work in a faculty member's lab
and assist in performing research
on viruses or on environmental issues,
or insects or birds or reptiles, this
is going to look good on your future job applications,
regardless of what you're going into.
The people there are all motivated.
They're all-- it's not like high school
where, oh, I have to do this.
People that are there choose to be there,
and they all enjoy it and share that same passion that you
have, which is awesome.
So when you come in, you're going
to get individual attention.
You'll be advised individually.
You will be mentored individually,
and then you'll be taught in a classroom setting
where you won't be anonymous.
You are going to be recognized, so you will be engaged with.
I noticed that everybody, the faculty,
grad students, other students, they
were just-- it was a very accepting environment.
And it was pretty diverse, people from all backgrounds,
all religions, and I think that's another factor that
made it enjoyable for me.
My college experience has been great.
I mean, I love coming up here to Logan.
It's very-- there's always things to do on the weekend.
There's always friends.
There's always new people.
And my goal has been to give them everything that they need,
everything they need to do their job.
The faculty is awesome.
They're there for you 100%.
They're-- they have office hours that they'll support you
and let you come talk to them about classes.
The greatest pleasure that I have
and most of my colleagues in biology
have is working with the students.
I like the fact that these students are enthusiastic,
many of whom are brighter than I am, and I enjoy that.
They're very dynamic.
They really like to learn.
And that is something that I can get up in the morning
and say, I'm going to go in and enjoy my job,
because I interact with the students.
The material itself is very exciting.
A lot of it is applicable to life.
So later on when, say, you're going to eat a certain food
or go to a doctor, you kind of have the background knowledge
into what they're saying.
The entire world makes sense only if we understand biology.
I think it was one of the very best decisions I've ever
made is to go into biology.
It's possible for anyone, and there's many opportunities
out there to help finance your education.
I mean, this is a great environment working here,
and it's great to see that these students are
able to accomplish.
If you apply yourself and you work hard,
you can definitely achieve your goals in biology.
We can help you do this.
We can help you to move forward into a very successful career
but enjoy the process.
The USU Biology Department really
reaches out to the students and tries
to find ways that work for them so they
can make their educational hopes and aspirations possible.