TCNJ

38 The College of New Jersey Magazine O ver the past four years, Kerstin Baran started a campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, studied marine biology and certified as a scuba diver on Australia's breathtaking Great Barrier Reef, and presented her laboratory research — on the health of the Antarctic king crab and deep-sea coral — at two professional conferences. Each experience proved transformative, but it was a course in cancer genetics, taught by biology professor Nina Peel, that gave Baran vital insight. Each week, Peel devoted one class to the biology of the hallmarks of cancer and a second class to scientific papers that identified potential therapies. For Baran, the professor's approach lit a spark. "It gave me direction to do what I wanted to do," she says. Baran's experience with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity, which she led for three years, also taught her valuable lessons. "It definitely helped me learn a lot about leadership, how to delegate, how to be an effective leader," she says. "I grew a lot at TCNJ." This fall Baran will enroll in a master's program in biochemistry and molecular biology at Johns Hopkins University. Her decision to pursue cancer research was largely influenced by the biology faculty, in particular pro- fessors Peel and Gary Dickinson, who oversaw the research she presented at the conferences. "They've been a huge part of how I got to where I am now," she says. KERSTIN BARAN, biology 2016 Future dentist 2020 Johns Hopkins graduate student LLOYD PADMORE, finance 2016 Emerging leader 2020 Financial analyst at JP Morgan Chase Lions baseball player, Student Finance Board executive director, 2019 homecoming king, and inductee to the Blue and Gold Hall of Fame are just some of Lloyd Padmore's accomplishments.

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