Student Voices

Amber Bakkum, '12

Meet Amber

"Make friends with other physics majors. We understand that physics isn’t easy—only liars tell you otherwise—but if you’re interested, you can learn it, and your fellow physicists can help; we struggled through it too."

Hometown: Winthrop Harbor, Ill.

Majors: Physics and Mathematics

Career Goal: Medical physicist

In 2011, Amber Bakkum, ’12, and four other Carthage students from the Carthage Microgravity Team took part in a zero gravity flight at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The flight was part of the Systems Engineering Educational Discovery program, or SEED, in which Carthage students have participated since 2008. Amber and the rest of the team were charged with the task of developing an experiment to test a noninvasive fluid measuring device that would work in micro- and zero gravity.

Her time with the Microgravity Team is just one of the many opportunities that Carthage has afforded Amber. She is also in the Carthage Math Club, has participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience with fellow Microgravity Team member Kimberly Schultz, and is involved in the Society of Physics Students.

That’s how she learned about medical physics.

“Professor Quashnock emailed our SPS chapter about an opportunity to attend a presentation given at Rosalind Franklin about medical physics, and I’ve been interested in medicine before, so I decided to sign up,” Amber said. “When I went to the presentation, they talked a lot about using radiation to diagnose different problems and how they use radiation to treat it. I thought it would be a great field for me.”

Medical physics is a new dual-degree program offered at Carthage in partnership with Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, Ill. The Medical Physics program at Carthage includes a four year science degree from Carthage as well as a minor in physics and then two years of graduate study at Rosalind Franklin, which earns a Master degree in medical physics. After the two year program, students can choose to begin clinical practice or go into a residency program.

Amber plans on taking her entrance exam in September, and hopes to go on to become a radiation oncologist.

“At Rosalind Franklin, they emphasize treatment or diagnostics with radiation,” she said. “I attended a class there about radiation oncology, or treating cancer with radiation, which is what many graduates go on to do.

“From the presentations I have attended at Rosalind Franklin, I learned that the field is terribly underrepresented,” Amber continued. “Medical physics is very important and there are few specialists in that field.”

For Amber, her area of study was clear; she had always enjoyed physics, and now, she says, she can’t picture herself doing anything else.

“The more I studied it, the more I enjoyed working with it,” Amber explained. “The Physics Department [at Carthage] is very close-knit and each professor has a different background, so there is always someone to answer a question in a way that I can understand."

Favorite professor: "My favorite physics professor at Carthage is Dr. Crosby. He has been the faculty advisor for the Microgravity Team since its inception and has always offered encouragement and advice for his students."

Favorite class: "My favorite class so far was Public Speaking. It really is a skill that everyone needs and no one seems to like to do it. This class taught me to organize my thoughts and condense them so I can give a 15-minute speech without rambling."

Toughest class: "My toughest physics class was Quantum Mechanics. I understand physics best when I can experimentally see it happening, like gravity — if you want to see it work, dump a box of stuff off a bridge. Quantum Mechanics doesn't work the same way, since it deals with concepts that we cannot see or readily test."

Favorite moments at Carthage: "My favorite time at Carthage was the first week I moved into Tarble my freshman year. I didn't know anyone, so my first task was to make some friends. To this day, those girls are probably some of the best friends I've ever had."

Favorite spot on campus: "David Straz Center B-2, the physics lab and lounge. I have spent many evenings doing homework with the rest of my class there, along with tutoring other physics students, working on the Microgravity project or just hanging out with fellow physicists."

Biggest surprise so far: "I am a capable student. In high school, everything came pretty easy to me, so I rarely had to try. Since getting here, I have learned what it's like to struggle through a topic I just don't understand, how to research something that cannot be found on Google, and that I need to swallow my pride and ask for help sometimes. Now that things aren't given to me, I understand how to be a good student."

Advice for other students considering your major: "Make friends with other physics majors. We understand that physics isn't easy — only liars tell you otherwise — but if you're interested, you can learn it, and your fellow physicists can help; we struggled through it too."

— Elizbeth Reinhardt, '12

Microgravity Team

The Carthage Microgravity Program sends physics students aboard NASA's zero-gravity aircraft. Read more.

Physics professor awarded NSF grant

Professor Julie Dahlstrom recently received a $1.15 million grant from the National Science Foundation to fund the multi-institutional study Carriers, Charge State and Diagnostic Use of the Long-Mysterious Diffuse Interstellar Bands. Read more.

Research Opportunities

Carthage students have access to some of the world's largest observatories. Read more.