BIMS

The School of Natural and Computational Sciences congratulates Crystal Garcia for being accepted as one of 28 participants in the UT Southwestern Scholars Program in Organic Chemistry (SPOC).  This program begins Tuesday, June 1, 2010 and ends Thursday, August 5, 2010.

The SPOC includes an exciting research component in which students will be randomly assigned to one of two organic chemistry research projects.  The experimental course content will include supplemental exercises, and a computer game or written exercises.  All the selected students benefit from this program as both groups will receive a strong foundation in organic chemistry. and will participate in a clinical preceptorship.

Crystal is looking forward to the summer, “I hope to get some new insights into the medical profession as well as learning more organic chemistry!”

We wish her well and are hoping to get an email once in a while to let us know how she is getting on!

One of our own…. received the following:

“On behalf of the Joint Admission Medical Program Council, I am pleased to inform you of your acceptance into the Joint Admission Medical Program.  As a participating JAMP student, you are a member of an elite group of highly qualified students selected to participate in this program.

As a participant of JAMP you will be matched to one of the participating Texas medical schools for your first summer program internship.  The summer program dates range from May 23^rd to June 25^th or from May 30^th to July 2^nd.

Congratulations and welcome to the JAMP family. The JAMP Council, Staff and Faculty Director at your university are proud to have you as a participant in this exciting program.”

Bryce says he is “definitely excited!”  He must maintain a 3.25 GPA and complete two summer internships at two different medical schools in Texas.  “Then, I’ll be good to go!”

When you see Mr. Stash, please congratulate him on this achievement!

(Story provided by Dr. Larry Sharp)

McMurry has a long and storied tradition in the sciences.  But the tradition in athletics is just as far-reaching.  Only at a small school like McMurry do those worlds blend so effortlessly.  I can’t imagine a major state school having their hard-core sciences so heavily populated with athletes (or more correctly STUDENT athletes) as we see here.

In my junior-level microbiology class this morning are 18 students.  Among them are a baseball player, two football players, two swimmers, a men’s basketball player, a tennis player, and three tracksters.  There is also a former women’s basketball player and a cheerleader.  Though this semester is a little unusual, it is never hard to find someone involved in intercollegiate athletics in my classes or those taught by my colleagues in the sciences.  Last semester?  My star student was a women’s basketball player and also in the class were swimmers, tracksters, and football players.  Some this semester are BIMS majors, some plan to pursue careers in nursing or other science-oriented majors.  No special courses for them. 

Teaching an athlete-laden course is a challenge, for sure.  Partnership between faculty and coaches and the athletes themselves make it work.  Their travel schedules require them to miss a class here and there.  They are always conscientious to make up the missed work and our faculty are willing to work with them to keep them caught up.  But for every challenge that is faced by their dual lives, a benefit is received.  We enjoy knowing them well and joining them in fulfilling their dreams to be collegiate athletes.  When their teams win, we celebrate with them.  And we are doubly happy when they manage to conquer their courses as well as their opponents.

For all who think balancing the lives of a college athlete and college student must be impossible, McMurry has hundreds of examples who do it very well every day.