Student Profile: Andrea Bouwhuis
Even when Andrea Bouwhuis isn’t inspecting her Petri dishes or tweaking her test tubes, she’s extracting all the knowledge she can from her research environment.
“You can learn more from 24 hours in the lab than two weeks in class,” says the Grandville senior. “There’s a greater depth to your work when it’s application based.”
Some of her laboratory work has included electrophoresis and experimenting with cell cultures. Using sophisticated equipment and answering tough research questions has become common for her—but no less satisfying!
“I like figuring out problems and how different things work,” says Bouwhuis, a double major in biochemistry and Spanish. “A lot of people don’t know what’s going on in their own bodies, but I want to discover that.”
Alongside Eric Calhoun, assistant professor of biology, she has researched genes associated with cancer expression. The pair recently presented their research at the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids.
Although studying science is challenging, Bouwhuis hypothesizes success comes with hard work.
“For every exam you have in high school, you have to double or triple the amount you need to know for one at Alma,” she says. “There”s no cramming overnight, but if you work hard, you’ll succeed.”
