October 2023 Spotlight

Lily Johnson: First Year PhD Student in Columbus

About: I am from Columbus Ohio. My advisor is Dr. Reed Johnson, and I am a first year PhD student!

Research: I am researching honey bees and their interactions with soybeans and pesticides in agricultural settings.

Get to know!

1. Favorite breakfast?

I am a big fan of the “traditional” American breakfast. Bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and orange juice is a winner for me! Also, donuts are a big weakness of mine.

2. What do you think would most impress your five year old self? Your 15 year old self?

I think both my 5 year old self and my 15 year old self would be really impressed with how I have found confidence in being me. As a kid, I used to worry a lot about “fitting in” but I never wanted to change my interests/hobbies to things that other people liked because that felt silly.

3. What is your favorite random fact?

Rocky Balboa from the movie Rocky has two pet turtles named Cuff and Link.

Erick Martinez: Second Year Masters Student in Wooster

About: I was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and after a couple of months traveled to Esmeraldas, Ecuador and lived there until I was five. Then I went back to Honduras and lived there pretty much all my life.

Research: In 2022 I began my Masters program with Dr. Peter Piermarini, looking at the toxic and repellent effects natural extracts may have on the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti. So far it has been a very interesting project to work on, and hopefully we can discover things that we could use to fight mosquitoes!

Get to Know!

1.  What is your favorite random fact?

You’ve known your parents your whole life, but they have only known you a fraction of theirs.

2. Who was the first band you saw live?

The first band I saw live was Highly Suspect back in 2018 at Kansas City, Missouri. Back home my parents weren’t fans of me going by myself to concerts so my first experience came until I was 23. But what a night that was, they were awesome. To see one of my favorite bands play live was such a blast!

3. Who is the smartest person you ever met? (Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be your advisor 😉)

Back in college our first two years we had seating arrangements in our classes (easier for the professor to see what spot was empty and mark absence), so we would literally sit beside that same person almost all the time. I sat beside this guy called Diego Marroquin, from Guatemala, who just enjoyed doing anything but class. He would sleep or do other stuff in his computer (he helped his dad with his company). I tell you I saw him at least three times every day, and he rarely attentively listened to what was going on. On his free time he would ride his mountain bike and on the weekends his motorcycle, so little studying. However, every time he was asked something, he would answer it. He knew what was going on in classes all the time and could explain it as easily. It was just wild to see him so calm yet so knowledgeable. Luckily because we sat together we were usually grouped together for assignments and he usually carried the team. He would organize and distribute assignments for the group and would gather all the info and present it. If we did not know how to do it he would teach it even better than the professors. I was very surprised by his way of explaining and knowing everything without really putting in much of the work. I’m not sure where he is now, but I can guarantee he is doing great. One of the brightest people I have met for sure.