1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Month: March 2019

Call of the wild: Transy alum’s passion is no flight of fancy

Posted on by John Friedlein

As nearby turtle tanks burble, Geoff Roberts pulls a coiled corn snake from an aquarium. Even up close, it’s immediately evident the docile creature with beautiful orange markings is nothing to be afraid of. Roberts explains how encounters in controlled settings like this one in the Salato Wildlife Education Center can help people overcome their snake phobias. That isn’t the main reason Roberts, a conservation educator and 2007 Transylvania University grad, shows animals to visitors. It is, however, an example of how his psychology degree still comes in handy. People often are surprised to learn about his undergraduate major, seeing as how he works for the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife. Roberts even once pursued a master’s degree in mental health counseling at Eastern Kentucky University. But that’s not where his lifelong passion lies—he discovered a love for wildlife as a young boy during excursions with his grandfather in the countryside near Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Thing is, during that time at EKU he felt like he’d already invested a lot of time into psychology, so it would have been a waste to not continue along that path. He changed course, though—maybe in part because of his liberal arts background at Transy, which encourages students not to get stuck in mental ruts, and in part because his mom encouraged him to follow his dream. The turning point was when he switched master’s programs to study recreation and park administration. “I knew

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Student activist learns and leads by example

Posted on by Robin Hicks

Jonathan Neal’s activism as a high school student in Louisville, Kentucky, drew the interest of church and community leaders, television stations, local and national award givers and even a campaign manager who encouraged him to consider a possible run for mayor. Neal had developed a reputation for speaking truth to power and for advocating on behalf of the vulnerable. He remembers being frustrated by politicians who kept prioritizing recycling over neighborhood violence and prison reform. Drawing inspiration from the leadership and service of his parents and pastor, he got involved. He found himself thinking, “If you’re not effectively making purposeful change in your city, someone has to step up and do it.” But before pursuing a career in politics and government service, Neal knew he first needed more education and experience. Drawn to Transylvania’s long history of producing political leaders, he wanted the same “elite education,” he says, that had prepared so many others before him.   As president of Transy’s Black Student Alliance, Neal’s goal is to create a lasting impact. “I’m trying to make BSA and my legacy at Transy about leaving this a better place for future African-American students to come,” he says. It’s a concept he’s embraced from his leadership training at Transy, focusing not on short-term gains, but on “leading to leave a better place.” A sophomore, Neal says he wants to motivate his generation to advocate not just through social media, but in person

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Q&A: How Jessica Marie Konen ’10 discovered her path to cancer research at Transy

Posted on by Robin Hicks

A postdoctoral fellow at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Jessica Marie Konen ’10 is researching immunotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer. We asked her to tell us about her research and how it relates to her time at Transy. Where did you grow up and why did you choose Transy? I grew up in northern Kentucky, a small town called Fort Thomas. When I began looking for colleges, I knew I wanted to go to a small liberal arts institution, mostly because the idea of a big state school was terrifying. And I knew the reputation of schools like Transy. Though I had my pick of a few schools, I ultimately chose Transy for several reasons. The biology program was highly esteemed; the campus was gorgeous and felt like home; and I knew I could see myself roaming it for four years. What kind of cancer research are you doing?   I am working in the field of immunotherapy for treatment of lung cancer. Basically, we are trying to find ways to kick-start a patient’s own immune system to do the heavy lifting and combat the cancer for us. This field has revolutionized cancer therapy in many tumor types, and has even led to some cures of late-stage diseases which previously had little hope. However, like many cancer treatments, there are issues with resistance – the tumor smartly finds different ways to shut the immune response down. So I

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