One Student’s First-Year & Sophomore Year Research Opportunities & Campus Involvement at Rowan University
By the end of his first year at Rowan University, biological sciences major Brian Libby of Audubon, NJ (Camden County) had already accrued significant hands-on experience with research, and landed a summer position with faculty as an undergraduate research assistant.
That experience propelled his sophomore year. Between continued research, and on campus clubs and activiites, Brian grew fully into his college career.
Research
His research, conducted in conjunction with Dr. Matthew Farber of the College of Science & Mathematics, dealt with finding different strains of yeast on the trees native to Rowan’s campus and how they can be tested and used in various ways, such as making beverages. Throughout the year, trees on campus were tested and tagged as the research team looked to evaluate the levels of biodiversity within Rowan’s own ecosystem on campus.
If you want to get into research, don’t be afraid to talk to people like professors. Get out of your comfort zone. Be open to ideas from others, because then that can lead you down this path.
Campus Involvement
On campus, the John H. Martinson Honors College student has found ways to supplement his classwork with club involvement: “I’m involved in the Rowan Environmental Action League (REAL), and also the Biology Club.
“I feel like being involved in clubs in your major, but also being open to joining different clubs and other things that are outside of your major, definitely helps to diversify and broaden your thinking. I added a geography minor because I have always had a fascination with maps and all these different things. So I thought, ‘why not just throw that in there?’
“It kind of shows in my mind that when people do that, that they also have some sort of discipline, in that they’re motivated, because they’re able to be attentive and focus on what they’re working toward, but also at the same time be able to contribute to other ideas outside of that as well.”
“I feel like being involved in clubs in your major, but also being open to joining different clubs and other things that are outside of your major, definitely helps to diversify and broaden your thinking.
The Motivation
Brian’s love and passion for research didn’t come out of nowhere. “When I was about 11 years old, I had become diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder known as Graves Disease. Essentially it is a condition where your thyroid starts to malfunction and it begins to become overactive, meaning that it’s producing hormones and regulating hormones above what it normally should be.
“One day I went to the doctor because I was not feeling good at all, and I just was not myself. And then later we get a call and they’re like, ‘go to the hospital; we think you might have a thyroid disorder.’
“Sure enough, I went and I got diagnosed. I met with an endocrinologist, started getting treatment, and things started to get better. When you get diagnosed with these things and you hear all these doctors saying all these technical terms, as an 11 or 12 year old, you don’t know what that is. You have no idea about that. So I really became fascinated with wondering what is going on with my body? Why is it reacting this way with all these things? So, you start doing research, you start looking up information, you start trying to find out and figure out on your own what some of this stuff means.”
Brian continues, “I had ultimately decided after about two years of seeking treatment, that I wanted to have my thyroid removed because it was just causing me too many problems. And I think even though I was on medication, it was like I was changing medication all the time. I had to get work done and it just really wasn’t fun. I was being treated, but I wasn’t feeling any better, you know?
“And then after that, I really started to get better. I’m now a freshman and sophomore in high school and taking biology. When you start talking about all these different systems and all these mechanisms, I thought, ‘hey, this is really cool.’ Seeing some of the work combined with the research that I had done to understand my own complications, I really coupled the two and started to become fascinated with biology in general.
Seeing some of the work combined with the research that I had done to understand my own complications, I really coupled the two and started to become fascinated with biology in general. One thing led to another and I started becoming really fascinated even just doing my own research on it for fun, like reading up on things in science news.
It was kind of one of the big deciding factors when deciding on a college, whether I could get access to research, and that’s kind of what led me to Rowan to study biology and get me where I am.”
Story and interview by Connor Bicknell, senior communication studies major