Major: Biology
Minor: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Hometown: Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
Scholarship: Behrend Honors Scholarship
On choosing Behrend: I chose Behrend because I liked the campus atmosphere. It was a good fit for what I wanted for my undergrad experience; it was small without feeling cramped and large without feeling overwhelming. Despite being on the 2+2 track, I decided to stay due to the wonderful community I built during my time here.
On choosing her major: I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, and I felt that biology would best prepare me for that.
Her proudest accomplishment at Behrend: I won first place in my division at the 2024 Sigma Xi Conference for my poster on “Effects of cortisol on the expression of placental iron transport proteins and extracellular vesicles.” It was a real confidence booster and made me feel more secure in my abilities to communicate effectively, something especially important for a doctor.
Student involvement: I am currently the vice president of the Biology Club, where our big spring event is the community Prehistoric Egg Hunt. I am also a member of Science Ambassadors and Beta Beta Beta.
Awards and honors: In addition to my first-place award at the 2024 Sigma Xi Conference, I also received two research grants for the summer of 2024: the Erickson Discovery Grant and the Penn State Behrend Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship, both of which allowed me to continue and expand upon my research on placental iron transport proteins.
What makes her unique: I believe that my compassion and ability to connect with people from diverse backgrounds sets me apart from others. I am easily able to strike up a conversation with strangers, listen to whatever they say, and respond appropriately. This has been most beneficial when interacting with patients during my shadowing and clinical experiences.
What people might be surprised to know about her: I am pretty good at trivia and enjoy learning random new facts, but I’m especially good at identifying songs and their artists. My friends often call me to hum a melody in hopes that I’ll be able to identify the tune.
Her top priority for the coming years: My highest priority will be continuing my education as I study to become an optometrist.
Her passion: I am passionate about optometry. I believe that it is an overlooked (no pun intended) aspect of our overall health. Due to the overwhelming intricacies of healthcare, people tend to put it on the back burner in favor of what they deem to be more pressing issues, like knee pain or a toothache, and ignore their eyes until they can’t see. This is obviously harmful as deeper issues could be going on that could have irreversible effects on their vision. I hope to educate patients on the importance of their eye health, especially within rural, low-income areas, where people are most at risk of eye disease, which can greatly affect their overall well-being.
Abigayle plans to attend Salus University to become an optometrist.
Despite being on the 2+2 track, I decided to stay [at Behrend] due to the wonderful community I built during my time here.
—Abigayle Lipscomb