Renaissance woman

For College of Biological Sciences (CBS) senior Katherine Himes, variety is more than the spice of life: it seems to be a key ingredient to her success.

When Himes came to the University in 1995, she had two goals: studying German and going to medical school. Himes says she earned a minor in German and even contemplated majoring in engineering before she discovered the CBS neuroscience program. She will graduate -- after only four years -- in the second class of neuroscience students this June.

"I can't believe it's almost done," she says.

Academic work is important to Himes, a winner of the Biological Sciences Alumni Society (BSAS) Merit Scholarship. Yet it has only been one part of her college career. She has volunteered at Fairview-University and Fairview-Riverside hospitals, played violin in musicals and with the campus orchestra, and cross-country skied for four years with the University's team.

Himes says she's always led a busy life, but she's learned to manage her time well -- studying during van rides to ski practice and orchestra rehearsal breaks.

In addition to taking four courses this quarter, she is teaching a lab section of the undergraduate animal biology course. Although preparing for class can be time-consuming, Himes enjoys her job.

"It doesn't feel like work," she says. "I like doing it."

Himes is also tackling her own research project to fulfill the college's graduation requirement. She designed and conducted her own experiment to learn how human vision works because she thinks current theories are incomplete. Many students assist professors with small parts of bigger research projects, but Himes chose to be the primary investigator to gain hands-on experience, which she says is more enjoyable even if it means doing more work.

In April, she will present her findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at the University of Rochester in upstate New York.

"I'm excited to see Niagara Falls," Himes says.

Her travels have not been limited to her research. Last summer, Himes bicycled in the AIDS Ride from Minneapolis to Chicago, and she has run in Grandma's Marathon from Duluth to Two Harbors, Minnesota -- and intends to run it again in the future.

Himes will travel to Canada with the cross-country ski team for a 24-hour relay race later this spring, and she hopes to qualify for the national collegiate competition in Mammoth Mountain, California. She would also like to do a winter triathlon.

After she graduates, Himes plans to go to medical school to become a pediatrician or a rural physician. She has applied to the University's Twin Cities and Duluth medical schools, as well as Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and Chicago Medical School.

by Amy Olson

If you'd like to contribute to the BSAS Merit Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, call the College of Biological Sciences dean's office at 612-624-2244.

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