Whitney Smith
Whitney Smith
Whitney is a senior majoring in Chemistry. Her next adventure, Pharmacy School. Whitney has been selected as the School of Science NERD/D Awardee. This award, named after several pioneering scientists, recognizes students who are demonstrating outstanding scholarship. (Newton-Einstein-Rutherford-Dubois/Darwin).
How we got NERD/D...
- Issac Newton - laws of motion, gravity laws, and binomial theorem
- Albert Einstein - relativity
- Ernest Rutherford - proton
- Marie Dubois - Homo erectus
- Charles Darwin - natural selection
The award is pronounced "Nerd - dee!"
To learn more about Whitney, read below her responses to a set of questions we recently asked her.
How long have you been attending at Rio?
I have been a student at URG since the fall of 2009.
Over the years how many different courses in the School of Sciences have you taken? (Estimate if you can’t remember exactly)
I have taken approximately 25 courses!
What one science course—not counting this semester—was the one that you have found the most fascinating/interesting so far at Rio…and why?
The most fascinating course I have taken was “Integrated Chemistry Laboratory”. This was my first experience on my own in the lab. I was able to make my own decisions and I actually performed my own experiment that I presented at the Ohio Academy of Science last spring. This course gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation for chemistry.
In your discipline (i.e., biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science, math, etc.) what individual (or two or three) would you most like to spend a day with so you could pick their brain? (you can choose someone no longer walking the planet…)
I would love to spend the day with Marie Curie, the pioneer of radioactivity research. She was also the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
What is your favorite food?
My favorite food would have to be cheese ravioli topped with alfredo sauce. However, my mother’s spaghetti comes in a close second!
What is your favorite all-time movie (or two)?
My favorite movie is definitely “Law Abiding Citizen”.
Describe the part of taking a course you like the most. (For example: sitting in on lecture, participating in a lab, the taking an exam, writing a term paper, etc.). Why?
I enjoy getting hands-on experience in the lab because this is the time that I can actually apply my knowledge from the classroom. This is usually the time that things start to click for me. I also enjoy working at my own pace, which the upper-level laboratory courses have allowed me do.
If you could go anywhere in the U.S. for your first job as a professional, where would it be?
I would love for my first job to be in Boston, MA. I visited the city last year and absolutely fell in love with the atmosphere. Not to mention, I would definitely get season tickets to watch the Red Sox!
If you could give an incoming (i.e., freshman) science major one piece of advice of how to succeed (i.e., learn a bunch) during their undergraduate years at Rio, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and get to know your advisors. I spent the first two years of college not knowing how to study…You’re given advisors for a reason-USE THEM!
What is your favorite quote?
“Work for a cause, NOT for applause. Live life to express, NOT to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.” -Unknown
