Sent to The Crusader by the BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
February 16, 2005

The Biology Department thought it might be interesting for their current majors and other members of the BAC community to know what is going on in the careers of some recent biology graduates. Several of them have emailed updates on their progress since graduation. They are all doing very well in their post-Abbey endeavors. We have news about grads before last year, too.

Yvette Battle (BAC Women’s Basketball Team) is currently a first year dental student at Howard University School of Dentistry in Washington, DC. She called in the middle of January to let us know that she is doing very well in dental school. Apparently her only problem is that she doesn’t get to run and exercise as much as she wants (no B-ball). In the fall, Yvette’s courses included anatomy, dental occlusions, and biochemistry. This semester she has histology and some dentistry specific courses she is finding really enjoyable. Currently she is living in an apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland, is applying for an Air Force scholarship, and asked that we say hi to everyone for her.

Anne Gibson lives in Charlotte and is employed with Prizm water testing company.

Greg Gojanovich (BAC Men’s Soccer Team) is currently a first year graduate student at Appalachian University in Boone, NC. Greg taught three introductory biology labs in the fall and found being on the other side of the classroom “definitely an experience.”

Megan Johnston (BAC Women’s Soccer Team) is bringing home the gold on the Women’s Soccer team in the Deaf Olympics held in January 2005 in Australia. Here is her story in her own words: “We are currently undefeated and beat Denmark again in the semifinals last night 7-2 . . . . I have received 2 yellow cards in the first two games so I had to sit out against Russia. However, I scored 3 goals in our game last night. But I saved the best news for last!! We are playing Russia tomorrow at 11 a.m., for the gold medal!!” And her American Women’s Team won it all! Meagan is planning on Physical Therapy school later on but for now she is basking in the shine of that Olympic Gold Medal! When not playing soccer, Megan is working full-time as an orthopedic-tech and wound care nurse in an orthopedic clinic in Phoenix, AZ. She is also taking classes at a local college, and says this time Organic Chemistry makes much more sense. As a side job she is an assistant soccer coach at a local community college for the women's team and has started studying for the MCAT's which are in April.

Stephanie Moser (BAC Women’s Tennis Team) became tennis pro at Providence Country Club and the JV tennis coach at Providence Day school.

Jennifer Nowak (Valedictorian BAC Class of 2004) is currently a first year optometry student at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. They are on a quarter system there so she had a week off in December and then was back into a new set of classes before the end of the year. Now she has Neurobiology of the Visual System, a physics based visual optics course, Gross Anatomy and Psychophysical Measurement of the Visual System which, as Jenny wrote, is the “study of the relationships between physical stimuli and perceptual response.” Jenny and Patrick Sutton (’04, see below) became engaged December 23, 2004. Congratulations to them both!

Aarti Pardhanani is a first year graduate student at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She said the first semester had been hectic but she did well was very grateful for having taken the Biotechniques class! She said that not only was it enjoyable, it is proving to be very useful in a seminar titled Recent Advances in Cellular and Molecular Biology, where students are required to do several presentations. The first round of discussion is on techniques and Ash feels good to be so familiar with all of it. She said her topic is Cloning (recombinant DNA technology) and she is using her lab notebook, old tests and lab handouts to explain a lot of her presentation. She said “Thanks a ton” to Dr. Reilly and sent her regards to everyone else at the Abbey.

Jenny Rahilly is a CBS (Community Based Service) worker at Sunpath Mental Health Agency in Gastonia.

Patrick Sutton (BAC Abbey Person of the Year 2004) received a one year internship grant with the Center for Disease Control to study Emerging Infectious Diseases at their Laboratory in Seattle, Washington. He was also accepted at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health and Tulane’s School of Public Health. And, most recently, Patrick found out that he had been accepted by the Cellular and Molecular Biology Ph.D. Program at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Needless to say, Jenny and Patrick, newly engaged, are thrilled by this latest development.

Three other seniors from last year are still finishing off their coursework or are still trying to figure out their career plans.

If you want to know about any other Biology grads, call Dr. Baker (6752) or Dr. Reilly (7109).