Shannon Davis has been named one of the Spring 2016 Undergraduates of the Quarter and we could not be happier. Shannon grew up in a modest suburb of Seattle. She attended Lynnwood High School which she reported was incredibly ethnically diverse and described her experience there as awesome. She took AP Chemistry while there and remembers Chemistry being the only AP test she didn’t pass. “That’s why I chose Chemistry,” she remembers. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
She came to OSU because she wanted to attend a PAC-12 school and with her choices being OSU and UW, she wanted something a little smaller and a little farther from home, so OSU was the obvious choice. “Plus,” she said, “my dad went here.” She originally matriculated into Chemistry with a chemical engineering option, but quickly discovered she liked the general chemistry sequence and switched to the advanced chemistry option. She remembers having Dr. Richard Nafshun for her general chemistry instructor and said it was an amazing experience.
Shannon says her favorite class has been the Experimental Chemistry series with Dr. Christine Pastorek and Emile Firpo. She also stated that they quickly became her favorite instructors.
Shannon has been doing Undergraduate Research for Dr. Jennifer Field since just after fall term of her junior year. She said she trained for a whole year before she was able to do actual research. Now, she’s using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to close mass balance in soil extractions. She says it’s been challenging and slower going than she thought originally.
When asked about extra-curricular activities, Shannon indicated that what she really enjoyed were the Family Science and Engineering Nights and Discovery Days. The outreach and chemistry volunteer work were a lot of fun.
Upon graduation, Shannon will be attending U Mass Boston to study marine science. She’s currently unsure of what she wants to do post-PhD, but is leaning toward teaching. She does know, she’s excited about moving cross-country.
Congratulations, Shannon! It is talented students like you that make OSU Chemistry such as special place.