Sarah Buchholtz
Features Editor
SB: Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
SA: My name is Sammy, and I am a senior, pre-vet student with a double major in Biology and Chinese Studies and minors in Environmental Studies and Music (and I am also in the Public Health Pathway).
SB: What do you do at Wooster? What kinds of things are you in?
SA: I am the current president for Model UN, the co-president for Equestrian Club, and the Community Service Coordinator for Knot Another Fiber Arts Society. I also play the violin in the Wooster Symphony Orchestra and the bagpipes in the pipe band. I also work in the Libraries as an Access Services Student Assistant and was a Sustainability Peer Educator for the Office of Sustainability.
SB: What motivates you to stay involved in so many areas on campus?
SA: I have a wide range of interests, and I am very interested in learning new skills and picking up new hobbies, and because I live off-campus, I want to get as much of the on-campus student experience as I could, so I wanted to be very involved on campus.
SB: How do you have time to do everything you are in?
SA: Well I barely do have time to do everything (I must say that my chores at home tend to get left behind), but I just try to keep up with my courses (I usually try to get all my assignments for the week done by the weekend and start studying for exams a little bit at a time at least several days before), keep track of what else I need to get done, and try to limit distractions. It also helps to have my I.S. done and completed. (And I often speed-walk or run from one part of the campus to another to get to places on time, I am sure many can attest to this […]).
SB: What was your I.S. about?
SA: My I.S., titled “Reconsidering the Herbs: Tracing Chinese Medicine’s Past and Exploring Its Present Application for Influenza,” is a combined IS for my two majors. In the first half, I compare fundamental concepts in both Greek and Chinese medicine to showcase alternative perspectives of the body (and diseases) that are different yet simultaneously similar in many ways to our current biomedical understandings, and I also examine the questions of what science is and what its relationship is with medicine and how these questions are important to consider when exploring the political and societal forces that shaped the development of Chinese medicine over time. In the second half of my IS, I performed a meta-analysis of past randomized controlled trials that have been done to investigate whether integrating various Chinese herbal remedies with antiviral drugs may be effective treatment options against influenza.
SB: How did you feel knowing you were the first person to turn in their I.S. for the senior class?
SA: It’s pretty exciting to be the first to turn in I.S.! I actually never intended to get a #1 button; I originally planned to have my IS submitted on my birthday (which was in December), and while I had a lot of my IS done by then, I still wanted to do some more work on it, so I decided to spend most of my winter break working on my IS and finishing it up so then I do not have to worry as much about IS in the spring semester and can take time to really enjoy my last semester on campus.
SB: What is your favorite memory at Wooster?
SA: I must say this is a very tough question; I have many memorable moments from inside the classroom, from my on-campus jobs, and extracurricular involvements. I am very lucky to have had so many fun and amazing professors who make classroom time very engaging and exciting, and I am also very lucky that I have been able to participate in so many cool and fun events, programs, and opportunities in Wooster, like traveling to New York and the UN Headquarters there for Model UN conferences, going on the TREK programs abroad, riding horses, and wearing a kilt. I have a list of memorable moments: playing with the model kit during the entirety of an organic chemistry exam, watching my physics professor (Dr. DeGroot) bounce from one side of the room to the other and telling dad jokes every morning before class, having dinner and ice cream with the Sustainability Staff, trying to film a clip of my Library co-workers for a training video project and needing to re-take the clip at least 5 times because my co-workers could not stop giggling whenever the camera started, and watching Chinese drama clips in my Chinese class.
SB: Who has had the biggest impact on your time at Wooster?
SA: I must say this is also a tough question; I would say all of my professors, campus staff members, work supervisors, peers, and friends whom I have met and worked with or learn[ed] from along the way during my time here has significantly impacted my academic, professional, and personal growth. They have taught me how to learn effectively, how to work together with others, how to communicate with others, how to stand firm on my ground, how to get the best (and most) out of any experience/opportunity, and how to have fun. I am very grateful for everyone who has taught me, advised me, trained me, helped me, and supported me during my four years here at the College.
SB: What do you plan on doing after graduating?
SA: I plan to attend a veterinary school to pursue a DVM/MPH [Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Master of Public Health] or a similar DVM dual-degree.