What year are you? – Junior

What is your major? – Biology – Ecology/Evolution Option

Describe your favorite experience with SBS. – Maddie does a lot of community outreach, with the SBS Biology Graduate Student Association and as part of departmental recruitment events.

“It’s fun to be able to inspire science,” she says, “I love science so I want other people to love science, too!”

What advice would you give to students considering a major in Biology or Zoology? – “It’s important to understand that yes, the classes will be difficult,” for SBS majors, she says, but points out there there’s so much more to college than just getting through classes. “It’s more about, what’s your passion; the reason you’re here in college is to follow what you would love to do for your future career. It’s going to be worth it.”

What are your post-WSU plans? – “My primary research interest is environmental epigenetics,” she says, which leads naturally to the pursuit of a PhD. Eventually, Maddie might work with conservation works or a university. “I’d be really interested to better our understanding of how humans are influencing the environment and how that in turn is affecting the physical expression of genes in species,” she says.

Madison’s taking advantage of all the opportunities available to SBS undergrads: involvement in faculty research, community outreach, and more! If you’d like to know more about how to get involved, contact us at sbs at wsu.edu today!