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Roxy Nicoletti ’20

In her own words:

My journey at Monmouth began when I decided to visit campus during a Mondays at Monmouth event as a high school student with a passion for chemistry and biology. I sat in on a General Chemistry class, toured campus, and spoke to some of the professors in the Department of Chemistry and Physics. That afternoon, I decided that I wanted to study chemistry at Monmouth.

Although much of my coursework consisted of challenging STEM courses, I also had the opportunity to earn an anthropology minor and take many fascinating elective courses in everything from Russian history to macroeconomics. I found Monmouth to be a place of nearly endless opportunities to learn new ideas, cultivate new interests and grow as a person. As a freshman, I joined SPECTRUM Club, the on-campus organization for LGBT students and their allies. I quickly became Treasurer of the club, and eventually Vice President. I enjoyed the many hours I spent on the third floor of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center in our club office, hanging out with other SPECTRUM members and occasionally helping younger students study for upcoming  exams in first-year chemistry or biology courses.

During my junior year, I started working with Dr. Dmitri Kosenkov and Dr. Yana Kosenkov on a project that involved using computational chemistry software to design more effective anti-cancer therapeutics. During the 2019 Summer Research Program, I developed a deeper interest in cancer biology and signal transduction pathways. This interest guides my current research as a graduate student, focusing on receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in breast cancer.

Overall, I feel that Monmouth University has given me an excellent education, valuable experience, and memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.