Caroline West

1.  Where did you graduate from high school? Name the school, city, state, and country. 

Lexington High School, Lexington SC, USA

2.  Where did you graduate from college? Name the school , city, state, and county where you received your academic credentials, Degrees and their majors/disciplines.

1. Bachelors of Science - Nursing 
   Clemson University
   Clemson, SC
    
2. Master’s of Science - Chemistry
   UNC Charlotte
   Charlotte, NC

3.  What are your current UNC Charlotte academic major/majors?

I’m currently a PhD Student in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology 

4. Which GPSG goal are you most excited to help accomplish this year—and why?

I’m most passionate about “increase and maintain 95% usage of the Niner engage plus app - specifically the graduate student chat among the leadership of the 37 grad student organizations”. Part of the issue is difficulty in navigating the app, so I would like to improve the user interface. Also, I would like to improve awareness of this app and make it easier for collaboration among groups. 

5. What’s one thing in your bag/backpack right now that you probably shouldn’t admit to carrying around?

2 computers, 4 calculators, and 3.5 terabytes of storage 😬

6. If you had to write your thesis/dissertation as a Netflix show, what would it be called?

Preventing the next zombie apocalypse with the weird genetics of fungus

7. What is one important thing that you believe every graduate student at UNC Charlotte should know?

Work life balance is actually important. You can always take an extra year getting your degree, but you can’t get more health or time with family after the fact. 

8. What's your go-to response when grad school gets overwhelming? (e.g., song, snack, strategy, or meme.)

I do some dopamine-inducing physical activity such as rock climbing or acro yoga. 

9. What’s one thing you wish someone had told you before starting grad school at  UNC Charlotte?

You don’t have to completely put your life on pause to be a student. Having two kids in grad school was difficult, but it put everything into perspective for me. 

10. If your personality were the result of two famous people combining their traits, who would they be—and briefly, why?"

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Richard Feynman. 

11. Dream Job?

My dream job would be to get paid to travel the world studying infectious fungus and mental illness. The two topics are separate, but they are both research areas I’m very passionate about that would greatly benefit from increased research. My goal would be to globally improve awareness and treatment efficacy of both.