Dani Blum, ’17, did not come to Heidelberg for biochemistry.
“I fell into it luckily,” she said laughing. “I originally wanted to be a chemistry teacher, but I was more interested in being in the lab. I love discovering new things and seeing what I can make happen.”
It turns out biochemistry was the perfect fit, and Blum is the first Heidelberg student to take every major chemistry class offered at Heidelberg.
“I made the goal my freshmen year because I wanted to learn everything I could,” she said.
Learning everything she could was a great strategy to prepare for graduate school. Not only did Blum learn about the different areas of chemistry, she engaged with all the professors, and exposed herself to the technology and tools of her field.
Bigger schools may have better equipment, but most students don’t get to use them,” she said. “Here at Heidelberg I got to use every instrument we had.
While she completed projects with all the professors in the department, her major research was with Dr. Nate Beres on a project researching nitric oxide wound care patches.
“He allowed me to be independent, but was there for me when I needed help. I was able to come to my own conclusions and run with my own ideas,” Blum said. “This is what it’s going to be like in graduate school.”
Dani worked incredibly hard over the last four years to get where she is going,” Dr. Beres said. “She is the most dedicated and engaged student I have ever seen.
Blum also had two internship experiences. First, she spent a summer outdoors with the National Center for Water Quality Research studying waterways, collecting samples, and completing field research.
“It was fun trudging around in waders and being outside,” she said. “I learned a lot about budgeting research and the importance of keeping our waterways healthy.”
Blum’s second internship was at the University of Toledo, where she worked with graduate students on negative thermal expansion materials in a lab. Both these experiences gave her confidence to trust herself.
“Based on the education Heidelberg gave me, I’m more confident in my ability to solve problems,” she said. “I learned how to be an independent researcher.”
Heidelberg’s chemistry program is female-heavy, and it took a while for Blum to realize she would be a minority in the chemistry field. But that’s not going to slow her down.
“I’m proud to be a woman in science,” she said. “I’m happy to be here.”
This fall, Blum is headed to Brown University for a five-year Ph.D. program in chemistry. She’s interested in studying inorganic projects with an environmental impact, which perfectly fits her biochemistry background. She plans on heading off to the Ivy League school early this summer to work a lab rotation, and she’s already excited about what is in store.
“I wanted to be interested in the research they were doing. I wanted to fit,” she said. “I didn’t want to pick the school just for the name.”
That mindset evolved from her relationships with her professors.
“I really lucked out with this chem department,” Blum said. “They have been so great to work with. I knew I needed to find another department that I could spend a lot of time with.”
Despite all her time in a lab, Blum was also able to get involved on campus. She is a member of Chem Club, Tri-Beta, and the cross country and track and field teams. She qualified individually for the XC NCAA DIII Championships her junior year.
How does she manage to stay motivated?
“I’m dedicated possibly to a fault,” Blum said. “I’m quite ambitious and like to know that I did my best.”
It seems luck had nothing to do with it.