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Jane Macdonald

Graduate Profile: Jane Macdonald

Jane Macdonald feels the biochemistry program gave her the skills to succeed in her ultimate goal of being a cancer researcher while allowing her to pursue her passion for dance.

“Alma was one of the few programs I found that allowed me to be part of a strong science department while continuing my participation in the arts,” the 2008 graduate says.

“Here I could receive the strong science background I needed to pursue my future at graduate school while simultaneously having fun both dancing and singing.”

A chemistry major, Macdonald was drawn to the biochemistry program because of the curriculum but also because of the personal attention from professors.

The professors in these departments want to you learn and are here to help in any way they can. They care about the student and the person.

“I've taken difficult classes and had hands-on experience in several labs, guided and independent,” she says.

“I learned not only the science but much of the discipline, patience and determination needed to pursue a research career.”

“I worked with Dr. Beckmann doing independent research, and he is not only concerned with how the research progresses but with how well I understand and enjoy it,” she says.

“The professors in these departments want to you learn and are here to help in any way they can. They care about the student and the person.”

She was involved in a variety of organizations on campus, including the Alma College Dance Company, the Alma College Chorale, Xi Mu Epsilon, the chemistry honorary and Colleges Against Cancer. She also was president of the dance honorary Pi Delta Chi, and a founding member of the a cappella group Pretty in Plaid.

 

Alma College boasts a 13-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio, a liberal arts approach to undergraduate education, 28 academic majors, self-designed programs of emphasis, pre-professional programs in law and medicine, and an intensive Spring Term that provides opportunities for innovative courses, travel classes, research and internships.

 

Graduate Profile

Caleb Woods
Graduation: 2006
Major: Biochemistry

Caleb Woods’ opportunity to work closely with faculty while at Alma College was just one tool that set him above his peers in graduate school.

“Because of the hands-on training I received I was able to hit the ground running in my graduate program,” the 2006 graduate says. “There are few peers I know of that left their undergraduate training with as diverse a toolbox as I had.”