Christopher Waskewich

Ever since middle high school, I have always been interested in the field of science. I was always eager to learn about the science of life in the world and use my knowledge to answer important research problems. My interest in science motivated me to study hard and do well in both middle school, high school and college. I graduated from Woodbridge High school in 1991 being 18th in my class out of 320 students. I was a member of the National Honor Society, as well as a member of the Woodbridge High school departing team. After graduating high school, I attended Rutgers University-Cook College, majoring in the biological sciences. It was at Rutgers that I developed an interest in the field of microbiology. After taking the course general microbiology, I became interested in epidemiology. I was fascinated by the work that epidemiologist have to do when disease outbreaks occur. I learned about the importance of learning about the factors that contribute to disease outbreaks and come up with effective e strategies to help control and stop disease outbreaks. I learned more about the role of epidemiologists by reading books like The Hot Zone, Ebola, and The Coming Plague. I learned more about how they risk their lives to help find and stop potential outbreaks from affecting the larger population. It was by reading about these stories is what helped inspire me to want to be a microbiologist who can help develop innovative methods to help protect the population from disease outbreaks. I graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelors of science degree in the biological sciences. I was also a member of the honor’s fraternity Alpha Zeta. In 2000, I attended Rutgers Graduate school and have obtained my Masters Degree in the Biological Sciences. In the time as a graduate student at Rutgers, I was a winter of a fellowship from the New Jersey State Cancer Commission. I was also an author of two publications for cancer research studies that I was a part of. I am currently a graduate student at Walden University who is working toward a doctorate in public health. I have just finished my course work with a 4.0 GPA and am currently working on my dissertation. I am a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society and the National Society of Leadership and Success. I am also a member of the American Public Health Association and American Microbiology Society.