Monthly Features
Student Profile: Samantha Deffler '10, neuroscience major
"The best way to describe neuroscience is I get to learn how we think and why we think."
Neuroscience: South Plainfield, N.J.
Why Bucknell?
"As soon as I walked onto campus, I knew that I wanted to come to Bucknell. The people, the tour guide, the faculty - everything just felt right. Bucknell was one of the first schools I visited. I didn't want a city atmosphere; I preferred a rural or suburban type school. I also knew I wanted the opportunity to take classes in English or anthropology and Bucknell let me take other classes besides just science courses."
My Major
"I'm majoring in neuroscience, so I've taken a lot of courses in biology and psychology. I knew I wanted to do something related to biology, but I am also really interested in cognition and the brain. At first I thought I would have to double-major, but Bucknell started offering neuroscience as a major my sophomore year.
"The best part is that I get opportunity to learn not only about how the brain works from a neural standpoint, but also how it works in the psychological sense. The best way to describe it is I get to learn how we think and why we think. Right now, I'm doing an independent study with Professor Andrea Halpern and we're studying the effect of musical expertise on recognition memory."
My Activities
"I'm co-captain of the club rugby team. We practice two to three times a week and have games on Saturdays. It's a great opportunity because I had never even heard of rugby until I came to Bucknell. We have a great group of girls and I love playing the game. Even when I look at places to study over the summer, I'm looking to see if they have somewhere for me to play rugby!
"I'm also a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. I'm VP of Development, which oversees the risk management and social aspects of the sorority. I'm part of the Best Buddies program, too. I'm paired with a woman in Lewisburg who has a mental disability and I do things with her in town, like go to the movies or out to eat. It's a chance for her to do something with someone new and a chance for me to get off campus and be involved in the community."