As a first year, it’s difficult to know where I’ll be in a year, let alone five years. This is one of the reasons why we STEM EE Scholars had this assignment- to gain an understanding of the lives of an upperclassman, a graduate student, and a professor, to know where we could be standing in our futures. For this assignment, we were required to interview these three people of our choosing and get to know them. I personally interviewed Alyssa Malinowski, Allison Pullin, and Dr. Lyda Garcia.
Choosing the upperclassman and the graduate student were the easy parts. When thinking of an upperclassman, I immediately knew I wanted to talk to Alyssa Malinowski. Alyssa is a third year who is my peer mentor within the College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences and also has the same major as I do- Animal Sciences. In order to find a graduate student, I first asked my STEM EE mentors if they had any suggestions. From their few suggestions, I happened to see a graduate student who seemed like a good fit. Her name is Allison Pullin, and this is her last year here at OSU.
Although choosing an upperclassman and a graduate student were easy, finding a professor, however, was not so simple. I started out by looking at the Department of Animal Sciences website, and I found the professor I wanted to interview, Dr. Pairis-Garcia. I figured out what I wanted to say to her, I wrote and sent the email, but unfortunately, I received a reply stating that she was on maternity leave. After receiving her reply, I went back to Department of Animal Sciences website to find another professor, which took me a while because I wasn’t sure which professor would be good. Eventually I found one, and oddly enough, her name is also Dr. Garcia.
Since Alyssa has the same major as I do, I thought she would be a great upperclassman to get to know even more than I previously had. Alyssa and I are both on the pre-vet track, which means we have quite a bit in common academically. When talking about classes, Alyssa said her favorites and most memorable ones would have to be Animal Health 1 and Animal Handling. She said she enjoyed them so much because there was quite a bit of hands-on work. I can’t wait until I have the opportunity to take these classes. I actually plan on taking Animal Handling next semester. In order to study for these classes and other harder ones, Alyssa gave me a few study tips. She told me making note cards works for her and to definitely study further in advance than what I think.
Although Alyssa said that she didn’t have too many difficulties with classes and studying during her first year, she did say she is severely directionally challenged, so that made getting lost all too easy. Before her first year, Alyssa was worried about making friends and connections with faculty and professors. She said the best ways to do this are to talk to them as much as possible and to ask questions. Even if it’s a small question, ask them because they will remember you.
After my interview with Alyssa, I had the opportunity to talk with graduate student Allison Pullin. Allison started out her OSU career wanting to become an equine vet, but that quickly changed once she got exposed to dairy cattle. Allison said she still isn’t exactly sure what she wants to do later in life, but she knows it will involve dairy cattle. After she receives her Master’s degree in May, she might want to go back to receive her Ph.D.
Before graduate school, Allison was involved with just about everything. She said this is the main thing she did to prepare for graduate school. Being involved with so many clubs and organizations, studying abroad, and doing research, this gave Allison countless opportunities to get to know faculty and professors very well. She said in order to build lasting relationships with faculty and professors, get involved and just make sure you show your face. She also said it’s great to talk to professors outside of the classroom; it will make you more easily memorable.
After getting to know Alyssa and Allison, I had the privilege to speak with Dr. Lyda Garcia. Dr. Garcia is a professor and academic advisor here at OSU who teaches several courses in Animal Sciences and Meat Sciences. She serves as the faculty advisor for the Meat Judging Team and the Meat Science Club. Although we both have a common interest in animals, her main focus is on the meat sciences, which is what she has done research on. One piece of advice Dr. Garcia gave me that I found amusing was that she said professors “gossip” too. If a student excels in the classroom and is always involved, all the professors will know. She did also mention that this does apply negatively though. She said to “use this to my advantage.”
Before I decided to meet with Dr. Garcia, I researched her on the Web of Science and Scopus. There I found just a couple of her many published works. Once I found the ones I wanted to read, I downloaded them from the “Find It!” button through OSU Libraries. While the idea of the articles was intriguing, they were slightly difficult to read. She and her colleagues wrote several articles about E. coli and Salmonella in bovine and cattle hides and carcasses. I understood the main ideas of the articles, but the details were more difficult to grasp. Although these articles may have been slightly difficult to read, they are a great way to communicate ideas and findings through this field, which is why research and scholarly articles are a crucial part of science.
Throughout my three interviews with Alyssa Malinowski, Allison Pullin, and Dr. Lyda Garcia, I learned a great deal of information. Whether it was study tips, how to connect with professors, or getting involved in research, these words of advice will definitely help me from my first year to my future careers. All three are such great women who I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to get to know. Although I dreaded this assignment in the beginning, I am very glad that Jorge Eduardo did assign it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made these connections with people that could, and are willing to, help me in my undergraduate career and possibly my future career.