2018 FALL LC MAGAZINE

CHEMISTRY IN AND OUT OF THE CLASSROOM Jennifer Beamon chose to attend Lycoming College because she came from a small town and wanted to attend a small college with small classes. Robert Beamon was initially drawn to Lycoming because of its specialized program for pre-law, but chose to study chemistry since the program no longer existed once he arrived. Having lab benches next to each other alphabetically during their first day of lab, it was at Lycoming where the two connected and made their own chemistry. Today, the couple work together at Bayer, a pharmaceutical company located in Myerstown, Pa. Jennifer is an analyst in the quality control chemistry lab where she tests products before they are packaged for Bayer. Robert works with the method development and metrology team for the quality control chemistry lab. Jennifer (Adams) ’11 & Robert ’11 Beamon (both chemistry) When asked what they enjoy most about working in this profession, Jennifer said, “It is a fast-paced environment with a great deal of responsibility. I get to highlight my skills while working on a team and by completing projects on my own.” Robert enjoys the variety in his tasks and commented, “No two days are alike.” Jennifer added, “By completing a research project while at Lycoming, I was able to practice thinking for myself in a lab setting.” She and Robert agree that their Lycoming degrees prepared them for their STEM careers. “Our professors pushed us to learn and broaden our critical thinking and problem solving skills and to ask tough questions.” Kevin Socha ’05 (actuarial mathematics) “I work for Voya Financial in West Chester, Pa., as vice president and head of financial strategy for the Individual Life and Legacy Annuity business. In the role of an actuary, I develop and use models and spreadsheets to perform calculations, but the challenging and interesting part of the profession is then to convey those results to a broad audience in a compelling way so that they can act on the results without having to get into the mathematics behind the scenes. As I have progressed in my career, a liberal arts degree has been important. Actuaries can often take on technical roles, but many of the skills I gained through a Lycoming degree, such as leadership and communication, have allowed me to expand beyond traditional actuarial roles. I enjoy working to provide solutions to complex financial problems.” Norm Medow ’60 (biology) “I chose to go to Lycoming College because my parents and I wanted me to get a broader-based understanding of the world, having been brought up in the public school system in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lycoming fit the bill with a diversified student body in a small town and a good liberal arts curriculum. I received a strong background in biology and chemistry. More importantly, the liberal arts education gave me a smattering of history, English, language skills, and art — as well as science — and prepared me extraordinarily well for medical school. I am the director of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus and professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Since the majority of my patients are children, I enjoy making them better from the problems they are having, which implies that the parents are happy, as well. I also enjoying teaching physicians, medical students, residents, and fellows the art of ophthalmology.” 23