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Winter Issue 2006
Toxicology Scholar Campus Visit: Whitman College
By Castle J. Funatake, Oregon State University, Corvallis,
Oregon
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Increasing awareness of toxicology among undergraduates is an important
step in attracting future graduate students to toxicology programs across
the country. Were it not for my own interactions with a graduate of the
Environmental and Molecular Toxicology department at Oregon State University,
I might still be sitting around trying to figure out what I want to do
when I grow up. But, attracting new graduate students is just one of the
many advantages of talking with students at college campuses. It may very
well be the first time that these students will have heard about toxicology,
so this gives us the opportunity to educate future scientists, lawyers,
physicians, politicians, and others about the principles of toxicology
so that they can make educated choices not only in their daily lives,
but also when it comes time to vote on toxicological issues that have
the potential to affect many people. So, when Larry Curtis
(Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon) approached me earlier this
fall with the opportunity to return to my alma mater of Whitman College
(Walla Walla, Washington) and speak to the students there about toxicology,
I eagerly accepted his invitation. He explained to me that this was to
be the pilot visit of a new program under the auspices of the Education
Committee of the Society of Toxicology, and that the goal was to make
undergraduates aware of toxicology as a possible career path. Because
Whitman is a small college (around 1500 students currently attend Whitman)
with only an undergraduate program that is focused on providing students
with a solid foundation in the basic sciences, it was an ideal place to
pilot the “Toxicology Scholar Campus Visits” program. To begin,
I made contact with my undergraduate advisor, Paul Yancey,
and the Chair of the Biology Department at Whitman, Dan Vernon,
and asked if I could come and talk with the current students about what
I had done since graduating from Whitman. They welcomed the chance to
have an alumna come back and tell her story so we scheduled the trip for
early November. In hindsight, I should have asked specifically about the
date of the seminar because as it turned out many of the students and
faculty were leaving for a conference that day and many other students
were preparing for the GRE that weekend. In the end, only a handful of
students and faculty attended. On the positive side, we met in a classroom
with long tables and chairs (not desks), rather than having it in a large
auditorium or lecture hall, making the overall environment much less formal.
I spoke to the students about toxicology in general and then moved into
my own research. Afterward, the students asked both research-related and
more general questions. They wanted to know how I had chosen a laboratory
for my graduate studies, why I chose Oregon State University, if I was
happy that I had taken some time off from school before starting graduate
school. My graduate advisor, Nancy Kerkvliet came with
me and answered additional questions about the program at Oregon State
University and about toxicology as a career. I think it was also a good
opportunity for the students to see the relationship between a graduate
student and advisor, which can be much more peer-like than the relationship
between undergraduate students and professors. So, for those of you planning
other campus visits, it is a rewarding opportunity to encourage students
to consider a career in toxicology, but be sure to check the schedule
for other activities (like conferences and exams), especially at small
colleges and universities, and think about the style of the room—the
less formal, the better.
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