Nicole McConnell

Diatoms have greatly impacted my decisions for my future career and I have been lucky enough to end my undergraduate career from Simpson College at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. I am a double major in Biology and Spanish and I plan on going to graduate school at Iowa State University for aquatic ecology. I have known I wanted to further my studies in aquatic ecology since the beginning of my senior year, but now I know I will never leave diatoms behind. I am positive that I will be studying diatoms intertwined with aquatic ecology for the rest of my life.

During my time at Simpson College I have accomplished many of my goals including two internships. One was studying the effects of temperature on the life cycle of house flies with Dr. Clint Meyer, and the other internship was working as a bilingual administrator at Hispanic Educational Resources located in Des Moines, Iowa. I have been the president of the Simpson College Spanish Club for two years and I also engaged in another leadership role as a Destination Leader during the fall of 2010. I am a proud member of Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society and I have made the Dean’s List each semester at Simpson College. Also, since spring 2010, I have participated in Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society. I am a determined, curious student that has many goals for the future that is now embedded in the silica walls of the diatoms.