Amber Guidry, Biological Sciences
About Me
My name is Amber Guidry, and I am a senior at Louisiana Tech University majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. I was born and raised in Houma, Louisiana where I attended H.L. Bourgeois High School for one year. Most of my high school education can be accredited to Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, which helped me to establish a strong academic foundation and love of science. After moving to the small historic town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, I began to realize the importance of small class sizes, reputable research facilities, friendly town atmosphere, and approachable professors. Louisiana Tech University fit perfectly into this description and made my decision-making process effortless.
The campus offers plenty of opportunities to get involved with the student body and Ruston community. During my first year at Tech, I became a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, Gamma Beta Phi, and Student Government Association. These organizations perform community service projects, such as visiting the nursing homes, helping less fortunate children, and raising food for the poor. I am also involved with Louisiana Tech's International Student Association, which has allowed me to meet new people from all around the world. This year I was honored to be elected the secretary for Louisiana Tech's Golden Key National Honor Society.
Mentors
Over the past three years, Louisiana Tech Univeristy's College of Applied and Natural Sciences has provided me with a family of supportive faculty, who rarely leave their offices. I decided on majoring in biology, a decision I never regret, after two quarters of general biology with Dr. Larry Sellers. He has been a great advisor throughout my college career. I am currently working as a research assistant for Dr. Yuri Voziyanov; I perform Southern blotting experiments to determine EGFP labeled site-specific DNA recombination. Dr. Voziyanov, a dedicated scientist, has solidified my decision to attend graduate school for a Ph.D in molecular biology and biochemistry.
Angeline Acosta, Medical Technology
About Me
My name is Angeline Acosta and I am a senior medical technology major from Winnfield, Louisiana. I graduated from Winnfield Senior High School in 2005 as valedictorian. At Louisiana Tech, I have been a member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, Golden Key Honor Society, Gamma Beta Phi, and Phi Kappa Phi. I served as a Gamma Chi Formal Recruitment Counselor and President of Chi Lambda Beta. I have also been a volunteer for the Domestic Abuse Resistance Team and active in several community service projects.
Why Tech?
Science has always been my favorite subject, and Louisiana Tech University has one of the top medical technology programs in the country. Being a hematology laboratory assistant helped me prepare for work in a clinical laboratory settng. I will complete my internship at Rapides Regional Medical Center in July and graduate from Tech in August of 2009.
Mentors
The two Louisiana Tech professors who have influenced me the most are Dr. Kenneth Griswold and Mrs. Mary Muslow. They have taken a personal interest in me and helped to prepare me for a successful career in medical technology. The program director at Rapides Regional Medical Center, Mrs. Laine Reeder, has been a tremendous help during my internship. She provides guidance and constant support which has made my clinical experience very enjoyable.
Wade H. McGaha, Biological Sciences
About Me
My name is Wade Holmes McGaha. For the past three years I have been a Biology major at Louisiana Tech; I am also pursuing a minor in Chemistry. After graduation I plan to attend medical school, though I am unsure of the type of medicine I want to pursue. After that I would like to come back to Ruston and start a practice. I was born and raised in Ruston. I graduated from Ruston High School in 2006. I enjoyed athletics there, where I played football for four years. During my senior year after accepting Christ, I decided to run track. I ran track for one year, and received a scholarship to Louisiana Tech. I have run track here at Tech for the duration of my stay. Throughout those years I have worked my way to be part of a school record setting a 4x400 meter relay team, two WAC gold medals, a fourth place finish at the 2008 Mideast Regional Championship, and two Jim Mize Track and Field track records, just to name a few. Even with all this, somehow I have found time to study, and have excelled through my class curriculum. For this reason I have been named a member of the Golden Key Honor Society since my first quarter. I am also a member of AED.
Mentors
In my years here I have taken many classes and had many good teachers, as well as some bad ones. The first class that I took in college was a Biology course that I took the summer between my Junior and Senior years of high school. Dr. Jim Spaulding was my professor. After that I was sure that Biology was somethig that I wanted to pursue further. When I finally became a full-time student at Tech, I was paired with one of the most caring and capable teachers as my advisor. Mrs. D'eane Sheehan always helped me when I need something. She always had an answer to any question that I had to ask. If she did not know the answer she would look it up and get back to me with it. My thoughts of her intelligence and her knack to stimulate interest were only confirmed when I took her Anatomy and Physiology class. I truly believe that without her and her colleagues' help I might not have had the motivation to make it this far, let alone go on to the next level.
