Katherine Wand ’24 had a senior year that proved to be as challenging as she expected.
A native of York, Pa., Wand’s biochemistry major required a thesis that involved 10 hours per week in the lab. That’s no easy task while taking other courses, working for the athletics communications office, and being a co-captain of the track team.
But Wand was not only accustomed to a grueling schedule, she learned to welcome it. “My schedule has been very demanding,” Wand says. “I live for that.”
Managing her time in an efficient manner has been crucial to her success. A fondness for chemistry has also been vital — along with a determination to excel at a difficult topic. Thus far, one of her proudest academic achievements has been making the Dean’s List of Distinction.
She began her thesis last summer for a two-part course called Advanced Chemistry Research. Wand focused her project on understanding the order and disorder of self-assembled monolayers — a collection of organic molecules so small that they can only be seen using a powerful microscope. The work also involved trying to capture a high- resolution image of monolayers, which was tough to achieve due to their infinitesimal size.
The challenge didn’t stop Wand, who was using an infrared device and an atomic force microscope to take her images. “Monolayers are very small. Researchers know they are there, but have never seen them clearly by looking at images. Our goal is to see it by taking nice photos — publishable photos.” Her instructor, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Eric Muller, constructed the equipment to take nanoscale images.
When Wand was not in a lab or classroom, she was with the track team as a member of the throws and jump squads. This past season, she competed at events throughout New York and along the East Coast.
While she aimed to achieve personal bests at every meet, she also helped the first-years adjust to collegiate athletics. The Raiders entered the season with 40 first-years, which is double the usual total and accounts for half the roster. Such an influx required all the captains to play bigger roles as leaders.
“There’s a learning curve. But a lot of first-years have shown up and done really well,” Wand says. “Over the next few years, we are going to be very good.”
She says she’s happy with her success as a student-athlete and thankful that she could play a sport while taking a STEM major. “Some schools don’t allow STEM majors [to participate in] athletics because of labs,” she says. “I’m happy to have been able to do both.”
Now Wand is starting her life after Colgate. She’s landed a role as an operations leadership development associate with Teva Pharmaceuticals in Salt Lake City. “It is a great place to start my career; my overall goal is to learn and grow,” she says.
Wand leaves Colgate with many wonderful experiences, she says. “I have learned so much about myself and in general. My team, my major, plus my support system have been so beneficial.”