Kelsey Bruce discusses student engagement at Linfield College with regard to leadership through student/faculty collaborative research with Dr. Megan Bestwick, speech and debate, and the Linfield Residence Life team.https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/inauguration2019_students/1003/thumbnail.jp

Bruce, Kelsey

English

DigitalCommons@Linfield

Linfield College DigitalCommons@Linfield Student Engagement Posters The Inauguration of Dr. Miles K. Davis 3-5-2019 Living, Learning, and Leading at Linfield College Kelsey Bruce Linfield College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/inauguration2019_students  Part of the Biochemistry Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Liberal Studies Commons, Molecular Biology Commons, and the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Bruce, Kelsey, "Living, Learning, and Leading at Linfield College" (2019). Student Engagement Posters. 4. https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/inauguration2019_students/4 This Book is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It is brought to you for free via open access, courtesy of DigitalCommons@Linfield, with permission from the rights-holder(s). Your use of this Book must comply with the Terms of Use for material posted in DigitalCommons@Linfield, or with other stated terms (such as a Creative Commons license) indicated in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, or if you have questions about permitted uses, please contact digitalcommons@linfield.edu. Living, Learning, and Leading at Linfield College A Reflection on Four Years at the Best Liberal Arts College in the Pacific Northwest Kelsey Bruce Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Major  Communication Arts Minor Why Linfield?  49 majors & 46 minors  10:1 student to faculty ratio  Numerous study abroad opportunities (including Ireland!)   Opportunities to continue my forensics career  Close to home in Hillsboro, OR Community Living in a residence hall is an iconic part of any college experience. Joining the Linfield Residence Life team took my living experience a step above. A support network is essential for success. Moving to a new city meant building a new network from the ground up. When I joined the Res Life team, I found a large, diverse community invested in the growth and support of all community members. They celebrated my triumphs - in forensics, academics, and day to day life - and helped me work through growing pains - conflict with coworkers, time management, and selecting my priorities.  One of the best things about the Residence Life community is their commitment to wholehearted wellbeing and self care. This is something I had little experience with - my academics had previously been a top priority, even above my health. Living in this community, I learned how to prioritize myself, find healthy coping mechanisms, and say that oh so little, but oh so difficult word, “no.” Working in Residence Life gave me an opportunity and excuse to invest in creative outlets. Planning events, decorating our hall, and problem solving with my residents gave me a chance to be crafty and develop better interpersonal skills. I also connected with coworkers for biweekly destress sessions of D&D, something I always had an interest in, but hadn’t found time or community to engage with before joining the staff. Research As a freshman I applied for the opportunity to get involved in Linfield Undergraduate Research. I work with Dr. Megan Bestwick developing an assay to use fluorescent tags for detection of in vitro DNA transcription.   It can be difficult to imagine what to do with a degree after graduation. The opportunity to engage in undergraduate research has been instrumental in forming a plan for my future. I always enjoyed the laboratory element of classes, but working on research is a different experience - one I find even more rewarding than the practically guaranteed success of educational experiments because of the extra effort I am required to invest to obtain success.  Research offers the opportunity to solve problems, collaborate, draw from and add to our collective knowledge, and feed my intellectual curiosity. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with peers in labs at Linfield, present at regional and national conferences, and learn a great deal from my mentor.  Studying abroad in Galway, Ireland was a phenomenal experience, and it was especially valuable for me because it affirmed my passion for research and made it clear to me that this was something I needed to pursue as a career. By about the second week away from the lab, I started missing my E. coli - something I never thought I’d say! Though I missed my studies and research, it was reassuring to find my passion for my field was so strong. It makes me certain that this is something that will be a good fit for me in life.  Forensics My passion for speech and debate is a core part of my personality. The skills I develop, community I share, and leadership opportunities I have had with forensics are invaluable.  There is an axiom prevalent in the study of communication: one cannot not communicate. Every  relationship we are engaged in, no matter the level of intimacy, presents a myriad of opportunities for communication. Increasing awareness of these opportunities makes us more conscious of the messages and methods we use to communicate. The ability to be persuasive is something that will be useful in my career as I write grants to obtain funding for research. In the meantime, the community has given me a platform to be an advocate for a multitude of causes. In the forensics community, I have raised awareness of Deaf Space architectural design, the role concrete and ineffective city design plays on our health and climate, the erasure of women in nerd culture, and much more. I bring this research and other factoids I learn in debates into daily conversations, enriching discussions there and advocating for change.  When I found out that I could channel my passion for forensics into an academic discipline and be recognized for that work, I decided to embrace the opportunities at our liberal arts institution. Not enough scientists are able to communicate what they do and why it is important. I aim to be part of the solution by engaging in rigorous practice and developing these skills in my peers. 

Living, Learning, and Leading at Linfield College

https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&amp;context=inauguration2019_students

Living, Learning, and Leading at Linfield College

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