Thalia Newman-2023
Thalia Newman
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.81
THESIS TOPIC
Predicting the therapeutic capabilities of macrophages: Validation of a computational model
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Four years ago, I would have described myself as “indecisive.” I spent high school balancing two parts of myself, feeling like I had to choose to commit entirely to biology or music when planning my future. I thought my inability to decide on a sole focus was a weakness, but I also knew that I could not make that choice if it meant giving up something I loved. I never would have thought that four years later, my perspective would change so drastically.
As a Lafayette student, I explored each of my passions to their fullest potential. My interests in biology and music went beyond simply succeeding in the classroom, pushing me to become involved on a deeper level by pursuing additional roles and responsibilities. My dedication to each department has been reflected through my receipt of the Biology Department’s Willis Roberts Hunt Prize and the John D. Raymond Music Award, each awarded to senior students who are felt by the members of the respective department to be most deserving. In addition to these passions, I developed interests in social justice, education, and mentorship through my roles as a PARDner and later Leadership Team member for the Lafayette Extended Orientation
program, the Director of DEI for Alpha Gamma Delta, a peer educator with Peer Anti-Violence Educators, and a current Co-President of Pards Against Sexual Assault.
Through my time at Lafayette, I learned that my “indecisiveness” is not the negative quality I had long perceived it to be. My passion for science, and for music, and for a myriad of other topics is not a weakness, but something that makes me more well-rounded, driven, and curious. It allows me to open doors to new opportunities and explore subjects from unique perspectives. It helped me understand and strive toward the Lafayette Ideal.
ACADEMIC ACTIVITY/AWARD
Biology Honor’s Thesis Candidate-1 year
I am currently in pursuit of a senior honors thesis titled “Predicting the therapeutic capabilities of macrophages: Validation of a computational model”. This project builds off work performed as an independent research student the previous year. I have spent the past several months designing and conducting experiments to study TLR signaling in macrophages and the potential use of TLR-stimulated bone marrow-derived macrophages as a cancer therapy.
Biology Independent Research Student-1 year
I participated in a year of research under the guidance of Dr. Robert Kurt, working with other students to study a computational model of TLR signaling in THP-1 monocytes to understand and predict cell responses to TLR agonists.
Technology Clinic Participant-1 year
I was nominated and selected for participation as a member of a six-person interdisciplinary team for the two-semester technology clinic course spanning the spring and fall semesters of 2021, which researched food access throughout the City of Easton with a particular focus on the West Ward. We focused specifically on the supply, access, distribution, and gleaning chains associated with food in the area. Some of our work included identifying connections between food pantries and other organizations that serve the Easton Community, access points for residents, gaps or overlaps that existed, and how surplus was managed, in addition to establishing a platform for communication across pantries to reduce the waste of surplus food. At the project’s close, we discussed the need for a more centralized food storage system with the Mayor of Easton and pantry representatives.
Modeling Collective Behavior Workshop Participant-1 year
I was invited by Dr. Daniel Strömbom to participate in a three-day intensive mathematical and computational modeling workshop in Austin, Texas. I worked in collaboration with undergraduate, graduate, and professional researchers in mathematics, physics, engineering, and biology to generate a model of the coupled dynamics between collective human behavior and infection spread, using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lafayette College Spring Student Research Poster Session-1 year
I presented work with another member of Dr. Kurt’s lab on TLR 4 and TLR 5 signaling in THP-1 monocytes collected through independent research in the Spring of 2022.
Lafayette College Fall Student Research Poster Session-1 year
I presented findings with the other members of the tech clinic course from our year-long project, reviewing food flow and mentioning possible changes that could increase efficiency in the food distribution system of Easton’s West Ward.
Pennsylvania Academy of Science 97th Meeting-1 year
I presented work with another member of Dr. Kurt’s lab on TLR 4 and TLR 5 signaling in THP-1 monocytes collected through independent research through a poster presentation at the 97th Meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science at DeSales University.
Sheng Scholarship-4 years
I was the four-time recipient of the music department Sheng Scholarship, granted to select non-music major students taking private music lessons for credit while participating in at least one department ensemble.
Lafayette College Dean’s List-4 years
I was a member of the dean’s list for six of the past seven semesters.
Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society-4 years
I became involved with Tri-Beta my freshman year, and was inducted as a regular member in the spring of 2022. Tri-Beta membership is granted to students who are majoring in biological sciences who have completed at least one term of the second year of a four-year curriculum or its equivalent, have completed at least three semester courses in biological science, of which at least one is not an introductory course, with an average grade of B or its equivalent in those biology courses, have a B average in all courses, and are in good academic standing.
CAMPUS SERVICE ACTIVITY/AWARD
Pards Against Sexual Assault-4 years
I joined Pards Against Sexual Assault (PASA) as a member of the programming committee in the Spring of 2020. As a programming committee member, I worked in collaboration with other members to plan events for the short period that we were on campus, and to maintain a virtual presence during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Following training over the summer of 2020, I became a peer educator and worked to provide virtual workshops for campus groups focused on sexual assault awareness and prevention, while also working to plan relevant campus events. I was elected to take on a joint secretary/treasurer position for the fall of 2021, and at this time PASA also welcomed Katy Bednarsky, the student advocate and prevention coordinator, to campus after having pushed for the development of her position in our open letter written the year prior. As a member of the executive board, I took on roles in planning and running training for our peer educators. I also helped to deliver the first run of our First Year Orientation Empowered Consent training, developed by a Lafayette research group. I was re-elected for my position for the following spring semester, and in the spring of 2022, I was elected to become a co-president of the group for the following fall. At the same time, Peer Anti-Violence Educators (PAVE) took over the peer education work that had been done by PASA in years past, and in this transition I worked in collaboration with the other members of our board to shift our focus toward awareness, activism, and advocacy, developing new programming events and re-framing our structure to fit our goals. I was re-elected and am currently serving as one of the two co-presidents of the group this semester.
Peer Anti-Violence Educators-1 year
I applied and was selected to be a member of Peer Anti-Violence Educators (PAVE) as a senior after the group was developed to take on peer education work that had been done in past years by PASA and One Love. As a member of the group, I underwent training to become a National Association of Student Personnel Administrators-certified peer educator in addition to three days of training at the start of the semester. Following training, I helped to facilitate the First Year Orientation Empowered Consent workshops, delivered to the entire first-year class throughout the first two months of the semester. I also helped to facilitate workshops on supporting survivors, consent and campus culture, and healthy relationships for student groups on campus.
Lafayette Extended Orientation-1 year
My senior year, I was selected as a Cub Captain for the inaugural Leadership Team of the newly-developed Lafayette Extended Orientation (LEO) program, which combined aspects of the Orientation and PARDner programs of past years. As a Cub Captain, I oversaw a group of seven Leos, who served as orientation leaders and peer mentors for groups of 12-18 first-year students. I also worked with the other members of the Leadership Team for the initial Leo selection, to prepare for and run our summer training, and to discuss the implementation of current and future improvements to the program throughout the year.
PARDner Program-1 year
As a junior I worked as a PARDner peer mentor for first-year students, providing one-on-one support throughout the fall and spring semesters. I offered meetings to students three times each semester to discuss general adjustments to Lafayette, registration, and finals, and also held regular office hours and maintained an open line of communication for students to contact me if any questions came up outside of our scheduled meetings.
Alpha Gamma Delta-3 years
In 2022, as the third Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Alpha Gamma Delta’s Zeta Theta chapter history, I worked in collaboration with our broader DEI committee to plan and facilitate weekly workshops, activities, and discussions within our chapter on a variety of topics related to identity, allyship, and historical and current aspects of social justice movements. I also coordinated workshops with PASA, One Love, PAVE, and Safe Zone to further push for the continued DEI education of our chapter I worked closely with DEI representatives from other Panhellenic organizations to promote philanthropy events, including a fundraiser for planned parenthood run by Panhel and Lafayette for Reproductive Autonomy, Justice and Empowerment (L-RAJE), and one for Lafayette Mutual Aid run by Panhel, Interfraternity Council (IFC), and Dear Lafayette. In addition to my work on Lafayette’s campus, I participated in conversations with representatives from Alpha Gamma Delta International Headquarters, discussing improvements that could be made to the organization on a broader scale. The prior year, as the 2021 Director of Communications for the Zeta Theta Chapter, I assisted with managing and organizing details of attendance, membership, chapter proceedings, and chapter events.
OUT Executive Board-1 year
For the fall 2021 semester, I served as one of the first two junior representatives on the executive board of OUT. Through my position, I collaborated with other members of the executive board to discuss club matters and concerns that arose relating to relevant campus events and activities. I also functioned as a liaison between juniors in the general body and the remainder of the executive board.
Marquis Players-3 years
I have been involved with Marquis Players since my sophomore year when I performed as a cast member of The Wedding Singer. Over the past two years, I have taken on more involved roles in production, as the Assistant Music Director for Legally Blonde and as the Music Director for Footloose. In both years, I was responsible for teaching vocal music to cast members, scheduling and planning music rehearsals, and collaborating with the other members of the music team to ensure that we were in a good place moving through the rehearsal process. I was also involved in the initial show selection process, collaborating with other members of the production team and the Marquis Players executive board to choose a show for the year that best fit the resources and performers we had available.
Biology 113 Teaching Assistant-2 years
I have served as a teaching assistant for Biology 113, Quantitative Biology, for the past three semesters after having taken the course in the spring of 2021. I helped students work through mathematical problems involving algebra and introductory calculus skills, and ensured that students understood statistical concepts, R programming commands, and MATLAB programming on a basic level for biology-related applications. I assisted as needed with grading assignments and occasionally met with students outside of class to discuss challenges they were facing in the course.
Theater Department Scene Shop Assistant-4 years
I spent four years working in the Lafayette College Theater Department scene shop, aiding with sorting, organizing, and cleaning areas of Buck Hall’s scene shop and black box theater while also helping with technical aspects of production related to set construction, lighting, and sound. I frequently took on shifts outside of my regularly scheduled hours to ensure that department productions ran smoothly.
Williams Center for the Arts Usher-2 years
During my junior year I began working as an usher for all performance series, theater, and music productions taking place at Williams Center for the Arts and Buck Hall. I helped with seating, program distribution, and ticket scanning to ensure that the front-of-house procedures ran as smoothly as possible. My senior year, I was promoted to one of four house manager positions and I independently took on the task of scheduling shifts for the approximately 25 ushers that made up our staff, while also working one to four shows per month.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Father’s House Food Pantry-3 years
Through Alpha Gamma Delta, I began volunteering at Father’s House Food Pantry in the spring of 2021, when the pantry was struggling to keep up with the demands of local residents as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect supply chains across the country and as many regular volunteers had to take a step back to protect their health. I volunteered as frequently as possible throughout my sophomore, junior, and senior years, aiding with unloading, sorting, and distributing food. Through the contributions of our sorority, Father’s House was able to last through the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to be a resource for many in the community.
Lafayette College Pen Pals-2 years
For my junior and senior years, I participated in the LANDIS center-sponsored Pen Pals program, serving as a pen pal for a fourth-grade student at a local elementary school. I wrote physical letters in combination with virtual letters through a shared google slides document, helping my pen pals improve their written communication skills and providing them with an older mentor to connect with. In the spring, I helped lead my pen pal and a small group of other students in their class around the Lafayette campus for a scavenger hunt and pizza lunch.
ATHLETIC ACTIVITY/AWARD
Intramural Floor Hockey-2 years
I was a two-time member of Alpha Gamma Delta’s intramural floor hockey team. I served as the goalkeeper both years.
Intramural Volleyball-1 year
I participated in Alpha Gamma Delta’s intramural volleyball team during the spring 2022 semester.
SPECIAL INTEREST ACTIVITY/AWARD
Benaroya Research Institute Summer Research Intern-1 year
During the summer of 2022, I participated in an 8-week summer research program as a member of the James Laboratory at the Benaroya Research Institute in Seattle, WA, a non-profit organization affiliated with Virginia Mason Hospital and the University of Washington that conducts medical research on many diseases and immune disorders. I independently performed studies of HLA-II binding in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), to better understand the role of CD4+ T cells in T1D pathogenesis to allow for the development of more targeted, effective therapies. I presented findings at the Benaroya Research Institute Intern Research Symposium at the conclusion of the program.
Global Treks and Adventures Field Research Intern & Contributing Author-1 year
During the summer of 2021, I participated in a twelve-person team hiking and mapping trails across the island of Hawai’i, focusing on identification of species seen across the island. Descriptions of observed species were compiled and published as a part of a trail guide titled Big Island Hawai’i: Day Hikes. Contributions were also made to Global Treks and Adventures’ Cultural Insights to the Big Island of Hawaii.
InCyte Pathology Accessioner & Lab Assistant-2 years
In the fall of 2020 and the summer of 2021, I worked 30 hours per week at a pathology lab aiding with COVID-19 testing to help with local pandemic relief efforts. I entered patient and sample information from COVID-19 swab samples into an online database to prepare them for diagnostic testing while maintaining a 99.8% accuracy standard. For the position, I underwent HIPAA, contagion transportation, and chemical safety-related training, and I aided in sorting and receiving COVID and non-COVID specimens as needed.
Music Department Honors Recital-2 years
I participated in three of the four honors recitals that have taken place during my time at Lafayette. For each recital, I prepared, memorized, and auditioned with a piece of music prior to the performance, working with an accompanist outside of my regular lesson time to prepare.
Music Department Senior Recital-1 year
This year, I was one of two senior students who held a solo senior recital on the Williams Center for the Arts main stage. For the performance, I performed 13 songs that I had been working on over the past several years, with pieces in English, German, Italian, and French. All songs were memorized, and I met with my voice teacher and my accompanist outside of my lesson time to prepare. I also designed a program for the performance, including translations of all non-English lyrics for the audience’s reference.
Lafayette College Concert Choir-4 years
I joined Concert Choir during my freshman fall semester, and have continued to participate in the ensemble throughout the past four years. As a group, we met twice weekly to prepare and practice songs for our semesterly concert.
Lafayette College Chamber Singers-4 years
As an established member of Concert Choir, I was eligible, auditioned, and was selected for Chamber Singers during my freshman fall semester. The group met twice weekly to prepare and practice music, and we were also expected to practice our pieces independently outside of class to ensure that we were able to effectively use our group time. Throughout my time in the ensemble, I volunteered to take on many optional solos and small group numbers in addition to the pieces performed by the larger group.
Marquis Consort-4 years
I joined Marquis Consort, or the Lafayette College Early Music Ensemble, in my spring semester of freshman year prior to the early COVID-19 pandemic. As a member of the group, I took on solo and ensemble vocal pieces, meeting weekly with the group while also taking time outside of class to prepare my songs independently. Each semester took on a different theme, often centered around a region or language, and over the past four years I performed pieces in Italian, French, Spanish, Latin, and English.
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Independent Music Instruction-4 years
I began taking private vocal lessons with Eric Van Hoven as a freshman, meeting once per week to learn pieces, expand my repertoire, and discuss general improvements to my singing technique. With his coaching, I performed in several private music department recitals, in addition to the honor recitals and my cumulative senior recitals. Each semester, I alternated between auditing lessons and taking lessons for credit depending on my other commitments, yet regardless of the credits attributed to the course I consistently put in a significant amount of time and effort during and outside of our scheduled meetings, occaisionally meeting two or more times a week when recitals and auditions drew near.
American Association of Immunologists 108th Annual Meeting-1 year
I submitted an abstract for and was recently approved to present a poster at Immunology2023TM, the 108th annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists. Taking place in Washington D.C. in May, this conference is the leading annual all-immunology event worldwide. My poster, titled “Predicting the therapeutic efficacy of TLR Stimulated Macrophages for cancer treatment”, will detail the work that I have done for my senior honors thesis studying the use of bone marrow-derived macrophages stimulated with two TLR agonists as a potential tumor therapy.