FEATURE
Libby Hodge, microbiology Libby Hodge has always been interested in science. Both of her parents work in scientific fields; her father is a mechanical engineer who researches new drugs and treatments for various diseases at a gene therapy company, and her mother is a biochemist who worked on cancer research. “Growing up, I just always had questions about how the world worked...[my parents] would explain it to me, and that sparked my interest in the world, and science is the study of how the world works,” Hodge said. During the second semester of her freshman year biology class, Hodge found a more specific scientific interest: microbiology. “I was just fascinated by how something that’s so small could execute all these complex processes,” Hodge said. Near the end of her sophomore year, Hodge attended the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy annual conference, where she saw ways to translate her interest in microbiology to a career. She hopes to work in pharmaceutical research and development. The pandemic has only deepened her passion for microbiology, as Covid-19 and the development of mRNA vaccines have underscored the influence microbiology has on our world. “Going into a STEM field as a woman, I feel like a lot of people are kind of like, ‘Oh wow, good for you,’ but this is just what I love,” Hodge said. “I’m doing whatever anyone else would.” Hodge is attending California Polytechnic State University to study microbiology.
Taylor Widman, health care For Taylor Widman, an interest in health care is personal. When she was 2 years old, her 5-yearold brother Jake passed away from cancer. “My brother and my family were able to develop very strong relationships with his nurses,” Widman said. “They were the people that were very helpful during his diagnosis and treatment. They left a huge impact on my life and my family’s lives, and I want to be able to do that for other people.” Widman has spent time volunteering with kids with special needs and volunteering in hospitals. She has also been involved with her family’s foundation, The Super Jake Foundation, which funds research to find a cure for neuroblastoma and assist the families of children with cancer. Though Widman has always been interested in entering a health care field, she’s recently become more interested in becoming a nurse rather than focusing more heavily on medicine. “I wanted to be a nurse so I can work closely with [patients] and develop those relationships,” Widman said. Widman’s current dream job is being a pediatric oncology nurse practitioner. That would allow her to have more responsibilities, while still working closely with pediatric cancer patients and their families. Widman plans to apply to the nursing program at Clemson University.
Kiley McCarthy, business
For Kiley McCarthy, her eventual career has always been clear. “With the family company that we have...it was automatic that [my sister and I were] going to go into business,” McCarthy said. Her family company manufactures hydraulic fittings, which connect pipes and other parts of hydraulic systems together. As college drew closer, McCarthy began looking more closely at the different branches of business. She was drawn to finance after learning the amount of math required for accounting and the travel needed for international business. “I like being able to manage the money and spending because that’s what determines... how well [the business is] run and how well the outcome is,” McCarthy said. On days off of school, McCarthy has shadowed her father at the family business, sometimes helping him develop quotes for various companies. Though she hopes to eventually run her family’s business, she also wants to complete a business internship at another company to experience a different corporate atmosphere. McCarthy noted that the business world, especially in manufacturing fittings, is dominated by men. She has two cousins who work for their father’s manufacturing company, and though the brother is treated as a normal worker, the sister has received dirty looks and is treated as “the boss’s daughter.” “It is harder for the women in the field [of business], but it’s a good challenge,” McCarthy said. McCarthy is attending Carthage College to study finance. MAY 2021 21
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