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A world of experience
Colleen (Burrichter) Fowle
A world of experience
Class Year: 2001
Majors: Chemistry and Mathematics
Hometown: New Hampton, Iowa
At BVU, Colleen was active in the Science Club, including participation in the Science After School program at a local elementary school. She was also a member of Alpha Chi National Honor Scholarship Society; served on the student panel for the September 2000 William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecture Series that presented questions to General Colin Powell; was the student marshal for Commencement and Founders Day. She also was a tutor for math, chemistry and English in the Center for Academic Excellence and was a member of the student team that provided technical assistance and other support work for the Academic and Cultural Events Series.
Thanks to the encouragement from one of her professors, Colleen applied to the NASA Summer Institute program in 1999 and was one of 14 undergraduate students selected from 190 applicants. Her main project was studying the impact of ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) on a pineapple plantation in Hawaii. She learned from the experience that she did not want to be an atmospheric science researcher, but rather pursue a career in environmental science. The next summer, she interned at the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Iowa and presented the results of her research at a national conference in San Francisco. The spring of her senior year she interned with a chemical company in Milwaukee, Wisc.
She also spent a January term in Puerto Rico with science faculty, where she and another student worked on a project about Puerto Rico's weather, climate, and land features. They also investigated the ecology of rainforest, mountain, beach, and ocean environments, an experience that contributed to her interest in water resources, which she decided to pursue in graduate school.
Colleen went on to earn her master’s degree in water resources at Iowa State University and in 2003 moved to Phoenix with her husband, who is with the National Weather Service, and worked as a water conservation coordinator. They moved to Milwaukee in 2006 and Colleen took time off to care for their infant daughter. In the fall of 2007, they moved to Aberdeen, S.D., where Colleen plans to find work in water resources or a related field.
* Why did you select BV as the place you wanted to attend college?
“When I visited, I first noticed the beauty of the campus and the friendliness of everyone. As I walked the sidewalks and halls, students, faculty, and staff always smiled and said ‘Hi.’ I got the feeling that BV would make a great ‘home’ for the next four years of my life. In addition, the professors I met were interested in my personal goals and wanted to help me get the most of out of my university experience. BVU also has a good academic program in the sciences, and I received enough financial aid and scholarships to make it affordable for me to attend.”
* How did your Buena Vista education meet the expectations you had as a first-year student?
“I had the opportunity to work on a research project my first year at BV, which really immersed me in the university learning experience. I was even able to co-author a paper on the project, which was published in a journal the first semester of my sophomore year. And my first impressions of my new ‘BVU home’ were correct — everyone was very friendly. I made several lifelong friends during my first year at BV.
I would definitely choose BV again, but I wish I would have had a wireless laptop all four years instead of just my senior year!”
* How did your BVU education prepare you for your career path?
“BV faculty and staff were always there to assist in my exploration of different career paths — informing me of internships or programs that would provide me with a better understanding of what a career in a particular field would be like. I gained an excellent understanding of general science and was provided with a broad scientific background that has allowed me to succeed in several different scientific fields. The internships and research experience I obtained while at BVU inspired me to pursue graduate studies in water resources at Iowa State University.
I'm currently spending time at home with my daughter, but when I return to my career, I am confident that I will be successful because of my solid foundation in the sciences attributable to the liberal arts education at BVU.”
Majors: Chemistry and Mathematics
Hometown: New Hampton, Iowa
At BVU, Colleen was active in the Science Club, including participation in the Science After School program at a local elementary school. She was also a member of Alpha Chi National Honor Scholarship Society; served on the student panel for the September 2000 William W. Siebens American Heritage Lecture Series that presented questions to General Colin Powell; was the student marshal for Commencement and Founders Day. She also was a tutor for math, chemistry and English in the Center for Academic Excellence and was a member of the student team that provided technical assistance and other support work for the Academic and Cultural Events Series.
Thanks to the encouragement from one of her professors, Colleen applied to the NASA Summer Institute program in 1999 and was one of 14 undergraduate students selected from 190 applicants. Her main project was studying the impact of ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) on a pineapple plantation in Hawaii. She learned from the experience that she did not want to be an atmospheric science researcher, but rather pursue a career in environmental science. The next summer, she interned at the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of Iowa and presented the results of her research at a national conference in San Francisco. The spring of her senior year she interned with a chemical company in Milwaukee, Wisc.
She also spent a January term in Puerto Rico with science faculty, where she and another student worked on a project about Puerto Rico's weather, climate, and land features. They also investigated the ecology of rainforest, mountain, beach, and ocean environments, an experience that contributed to her interest in water resources, which she decided to pursue in graduate school.
Colleen went on to earn her master’s degree in water resources at Iowa State University and in 2003 moved to Phoenix with her husband, who is with the National Weather Service, and worked as a water conservation coordinator. They moved to Milwaukee in 2006 and Colleen took time off to care for their infant daughter. In the fall of 2007, they moved to Aberdeen, S.D., where Colleen plans to find work in water resources or a related field.
* Why did you select BV as the place you wanted to attend college?
“When I visited, I first noticed the beauty of the campus and the friendliness of everyone. As I walked the sidewalks and halls, students, faculty, and staff always smiled and said ‘Hi.’ I got the feeling that BV would make a great ‘home’ for the next four years of my life. In addition, the professors I met were interested in my personal goals and wanted to help me get the most of out of my university experience. BVU also has a good academic program in the sciences, and I received enough financial aid and scholarships to make it affordable for me to attend.”
* How did your Buena Vista education meet the expectations you had as a first-year student?
“I had the opportunity to work on a research project my first year at BV, which really immersed me in the university learning experience. I was even able to co-author a paper on the project, which was published in a journal the first semester of my sophomore year. And my first impressions of my new ‘BVU home’ were correct — everyone was very friendly. I made several lifelong friends during my first year at BV.
I would definitely choose BV again, but I wish I would have had a wireless laptop all four years instead of just my senior year!”
* How did your BVU education prepare you for your career path?
“BV faculty and staff were always there to assist in my exploration of different career paths — informing me of internships or programs that would provide me with a better understanding of what a career in a particular field would be like. I gained an excellent understanding of general science and was provided with a broad scientific background that has allowed me to succeed in several different scientific fields. The internships and research experience I obtained while at BVU inspired me to pursue graduate studies in water resources at Iowa State University.
I'm currently spending time at home with my daughter, but when I return to my career, I am confident that I will be successful because of my solid foundation in the sciences attributable to the liberal arts education at BVU.”