As the next phase of the college journey begins, I am beginning to realize the impact that my choice of major will have on my future. Ultimately, my final decision will depend on where I end up attending university and how my coursework shapes my interests, but as of now, it will lie somewhere in the engineering field with a focus on biology and the environment. Should I attend UC Berkeley, say, then I would major in bioengineering specifically, a field in which I have always had tremendous interest. Biology has always been fascinating to me, and I'm driven by the applicability and practicality of engineering, and so a direct combination of these two seems like an academic paradise to me. After college, I hope to do something more than just working as a floor-level engineer for a massive engineering firm. This may come in the form of starting an environmental non-profit or working for the EPA, but I really don't know yet. We'll check back in in four years.
In my research into the Bioengineering department at Berkeley, I stumbled upon Jay Keasling, a professor in the Chemical and Biological Engineering departments, and the principal investigator of the Keasling Lab at Berkeley. His primary focus in his work is on metabolism and microbe engineering, and he is using his research to produce alternative biofuels and pharmaceuticals. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and then his PhD from the University of Michigan.
Keasling is driven, outspoken, focused, inspired, and motivated. I chose to research him because of the indirect connection I have with him through the Berkeley Engineering School, and when I read his name it sounded familiar and intriguing.
