TWC ARCHES Spring 2013

TWC senior chosen for prestigious
summer medical program
O
n May 26 Tennessee
Wesleyan College senior
Christine Lumbasio will be
headed for Nashville, Tenn.
to participate in Vanderbilt
University’s prestigious Summer
Science Academy. A biology
major and chemistry minor at
TWC, Lumbasio will spend
three months of her summer
shadowing doctors and
participating in Vanderbilt’s
clinical research program.
Chosen from over 600 applicants,
Lumbasio is one of 15 undergraduate students who will attend
Vanderbilt’s summer program which is designed specifically for
students who wish to pursue a career in medicine.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity for me,” said Lumbasio,
originally from Masai Mar, Kenya. “I grew up as a translator for
missionary doctors who came to my village to treat those in need
of medical care. Being around medicine at a young age inspired
me to become a doctor. This opportunity at Vanderbilt is a
stepping stone between my undergraduate career at Tennessee
Wesleyan and my future in medical school.”
A talented player on TWC’s women’s basketball team, Lumbasio
transferred here in her sophomore year from Martin Methodist in
Pulaski, Tenn.
Biology students attend
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
T
“I have truly loved my time at Tennessee Wesleyan,” said
Lumbasio. “I was lucky to be educated in a family atmosphere
where everyone is willing to help you achieve your goals. I came
from a small village in Kenya. Athens still seems so big to me.
I know Nashville will be an even bigger experience for me to
embrace. As I continue to work toward my dream of becoming a
doctor, I’m looking forward to the opportunities and challenges
Vanderbilt’s summer program will offer me.”
While at Tennessee Wesleyan, Lumbasio has maintained honors
for four years in a row as well as made academic all-conference
in basketball all four years. She was inducted to the Alpha Chi
Honor Society and nominated for Who’s Who Among Students
in American Universities and Colleges.
“I feel like I have accomplished so much at TWC, given the
background and the hardships I had to endure to get to this point
in life,” said Lumbasio. “Leaving all that you have known for 19
years, your entire family and friends, to embark on a journey 6,000
miles from home, with the hope that one day you will return and
make a difference in people’s lives because you want to be the
change you want to see in this world.”
“Growing up in Africa prepared me for this. Life there was
tough, coming from that small village without running water
or electricity and living in the most extreme poverty conditions
helped to build the tenacity and perseverance that has carried
me through and will continue to carry me through this process of
achieving my goals in life.”
ennessee Wesleyan College students Jordan Bean, Stephanie Breeden, Ben Graves,
Janelle Johnson and Bobbi Stone attended the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory in
Ocean Springs, Miss. during the summer of 2012. GCRL is associated with The University
of Southern Mississippi and boasts one of the finest coastal research centers in the
Southeastern U.S.
Bean and Breeden took field and course work in Dolphin and Whale Biology while Graves
studied Marine Biology and Marine Ichthyology. In addition, Johnson and Stone took field
and course work in Coastal Herpetology.
“We have been sending quite a few students to GCRL over the past few years and it is
something that we, the faculty, are encouraging them to pursue,” said Dr. Allen Moore,
TWC associate professor of biology. “It gives our students the opportunity to study the
ecology of organisms from an entirely different biome from that of East Tennessee.”
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