Throughout the spring semester, we are honoring our senior student-athletes with a "Senior Salute" series. Today's featured senior is Kira Boyce, a biochemistry and molecular biology and anthropology major from Rainer, Washington. Boyce is a member of the cross country and track and field teams.
Q: Why did you choose to attend The College of Wooster?
A: I felt like the professors here cared for me beyond my academic accomplishments. I have always adopted the mentality with my academics that I am a person before an academic and I appreciated seeing professors that engage with their work in the same capacity.
Q: What does being a Fighting Scot student-athlete mean to you?
A: Giving 100 percent to my sport and then putting in an extra 10 percent for the love of the team.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories as a student at The College of Wooster?
A: The connections I have developed through my academic departments have created the best memories. Some of my closest friends were made in study sessions for tests and through pushing each other to excel in the classroom.
Q: What is the best part about being a student-athlete at The College of Wooster?
A: I like being surrounded by people who are bonded by how much they love and invest into their sports.
Q: What else were you involved with on campus besides your sport?
A: I do a lot of campus photography and TA the biology class Cell Physiology. I also am a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Q: Which College of Wooster faculty or staff member has made the greatest impact on you and why?
A: Dr. Rebecca Williams has given me some pretty incredible opportunities to grow as a scientist. She has been my rock as I prepare to step into the next part of my career.
Q: What other people or resources impacted your Wooster experience in a positive way and how did these people and resources set you up to be successful at Wooster?
A: APEX (Wooster's center for Advising, Planning, and Experiential Learning)has been crucial to me in development of my resume and helping push me through applications to internships and postgraduate opportunities.
Q: Tell us a bit about your Independent Study project?
A: I am looking at the mechanism behind the degradation of nicotinic acid in the bacterium Bacillus niacini. To do this, my lab has knocked out key genes in the construct. By using a method called high performance liquid chromatography, we can isolate differences in the reactions. Once results in each of the gene deletions has been confirmed, I am going to focus on the gene coxG to understand its relationship in the bacterium to the electron transport chain.
Q: Tell us a bit about something cool you did as a student at The College of Wooster?
A: I completed a sophomore research experience the summer before my junior year where I completed a review and data analysis of cancer incidence in the Western New York area. My work earned me first authorship on a research paper that is now under review for publication.
Q: Reflecting back on your time at Wooster, what advice would you give your first-year (freshman) self?
A: Invest in relationships with your professors early. The better of a relationship you make, the higher quality your academic experience will be. There are some pretty cool faculty to get to know here too.
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