Graduation profile: Caitlin Baxter
Caitlin Shae Baxter, 23, will receive her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in neuroscience when she graduates June 14 from the University of Oregon. She is from Brownsville, Ore. “The only reason anyone knows Brownsville is because it's where Stand By Me was filmed in the '80s,” she says.
Academic accomplishments:
I'm graduating from Clark Honors College. Additionally, I'm graduating with honors from the department of Biology. This means that I've completed an undergraduate research project in a lab, and I've written and defended a thesis. I presented a poster about my research at the conference for the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO--ears, nose, and throat) in February. I've been working in the Takahashi lab for two years. I do behavioral studies with barn owls. Hopefully someday our research will be used to improve hearing prosthetics, like hearing aids and cochlear implants. My advisers and I intend to submit my paper to be published in a scholarly journal after we revise it a bit this summer. I received the Undergraduate Research Fellowship this year for my research.
Extracurricular/leadership activity:
Matt Hoffman and I co-founded the Clark Honors Introductory Program, which groups each incoming honors college freshman with an upperclassman and a professor. This is the third year of the CHIP program. I'm also involved in Carriage Me Back, an annual fundraiser for the Linn County Pioneer Museum in my hometown of Brownsville. We put on a historical play every year. I've also peer-tutored three classes during my undergraduate career here at the UO. I really enjoy teaching and I intend to become a professor. The most rewarding thing is that I see my students around and they still remember me and tell me that I was helpful.
Attending and graduating college is significant to my family (or in light of my background) because … my parents are both professors and I'm following in the family footsteps. I really admire both of my parents and have tried to emulate them. Our family holds the value of education very highly — we believe education is an important part of becoming a good, well-rounded citizen of the world.
The reason I chose the University of Oregon for my education is … well, the UO is a fantastic research institution. Among other things, we have a brand-new, state-of-the-art nanotechnology facility! I loved the mixture of the big research institution and the small community of Clark Honors College.
The most rewarding experience/challenge I’ve had while earning my degree was … finishing my thesis in the lab. I do behavioral studies with barn owls, and it takes a lot of time. During the fall, they were doing construction so the only time I could come in and run the birds was before 9 a.m. During winter break, I was running the birds every day except for Christmas and New Year's Eve. Presenting my poster at the ARO conference was hugely intimidating and hugely rewarding. I've learned so much about neuroscience and the scientific process! I'm so excited to apply and go to graduate school. I want to do this for the rest of my life!
I think the other most rewarding/challenging experience I've had was going to Ecuador with Peter Wetherwax. Seeing the Amazon was something I will never forget! At the same time, I had a terrible reaction to my malaria medication and was very ill — we think I had an ulcerated esophagus. At the time we were in the middle of the rain forest, eight hours by canoe from the nearest city. I just had to tough it out and get out there every day even though I was in pain and could hardly eat. My reward was that I have seen things most people won't get to see in their lifetime — for example, a troupe of spider monkeys feeding on fruit in the canopy. The best thing I learned during that trip was the depth of my own strength.
While pursuing my degree I was most inspired by … Dr. Elizabeth Whitchurch. She was a post-doc in the Takahashi lab. She originally trained me in how to work with the owls! She has been a wonderful friend and mentor to me, and has always been there for me when things have gotten difficult. I find her inspiring because she balances her career with her family, and still manages to pull it off! She has two daughters, and she is a fantastic scientist. I hope that I will be able to do it all someday like she can. She made me believe it was possible to pursue a career in science and to have a family, too.
My UO degree is valuable because … I have learned and grown so much! I am a very different, and much better, person than I was when I came here as a freshman. The ways that I have changed are innumerable. I am so enormously grateful for my experiences here at the UO.
After graduation, I plan to use my degree from the UO to …. apply to graduate schools across the country! My strong background in research from the UO should put me in good standing for applying to neurobiology graduate programs.
