student achievement Nick Rasmussen, a zoology major in the OSU Honors College, received a Morris K. Udall Foundation Scholarship for his senior year. The 2005 Udall Scholarship provides an outstanding student of the environment $5,000 for educational expenses. Rasmussen also won the Goldwater Scholarship for Science in 2004. “Winning both scholarships is a rare accomplishment,” says Robert Graalman, director of the OSU Office of Scholar Development and Recognition, “and places Nick at the very top of his field at a remarkably young age.” In addition to the Udall and Goldwater Scholarships, Rasmussen won three straight Wentz Research Scholarships and the 2004 Research Symposium Award for the best poster presentation in biological sciences at OSU. He also spent the summer of 2004 studying Darwin and the history of science at Cambridge. Rasmussen, who plans to become a zoology professor, says his commitment to the environment began as a small child. “Growing up, I spent a great deal of time exploring the stream and associated riparian habitat near my house in search of frogs, snakes and weird bugs. To a great degree, my dedication to biology is a direct result of the countless hours I spent in this tiny piece of wilderness watching the small wonders of nature unfold before my eyes,” he says. “I hope to make contributions that will better mankind and preserve the natural world for future generations.” Dottie Witter and Cory Cheney Most OSU seniors do not spend their summer examining bullets under a microscope, but for Jennifer VanDeventer this was part of her responsibilities as an intern in a forensic lab at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. VanDeventer, a biological sciences senior, was selected in a nationwide search for the FBI honors internship. For 10 weeks, she worked under a qualified firearms examiner in the firearms and toolmarks unit of the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va. Senior Has a Bang-up Summer Exceptional Scholarship “Behind every case there is a victim,” VanDeventer says. “I am drawn to this field because I want to help the victims.” Watching shows such as Law and Order and Forensic Files sparked her interest in forensics. However, her internship brought the unsettling reality of working in a real forensic lab. Even though VanDeventer never visited a real crime scene, she was able to comprehend what examiners deal with everyday. “Forensics is a noble field but certainly not a glamorous one,” she says. “This internship showed me the reality that Hollywood likes to gloss-over.” VanDeventer came across this career-boosting experience in a local oncampus advertisement. She simply pursued a job posting in The Daily O’Collegian for students interested in an internship with the FBI. courtesy Phil Shockley Morris K. Udall pNick Rasmussen’s research includes the impact of game fish stocking on the damselfly, a close relative of the dragonfly that’s important to the environment for its role in controlling mosquito populations. Jennifer VanDeventer College of Arts and Sciences 16
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