Balancing Passions

It seems particularly appropriate that in the last few minutes of Valentine’s Day, I am writing about those things for which I have passion.  My first answer to the question, “What are you passionate about?” is my family.   The second, is my job in Creighton’s biology department. Interestingly they are intimately intertwined.  It was at Creighton in 1989 that I was first introduced to my husband Eric. We were both sophmores at Creighton, both newly declared biology majors, and, even though I had not noticed it before, in many of the same courses.   At first, we didn’t really get along- we had very different political opinions and argued our positions fervently.  Our interest in biology though was shared.  Along with a few other biology majors, we soon developed a tight nit group of friends that studied together, TA’ed together, did research together, ran Bio club, and continued to argue about politics or other issues.  The biology department and our faculty mentors had a profound affect on our development as young people.  As time continued, Eric and I grew closer and our friendship evolved into a marriage graced with two unbelievably amazing boys.  I am grateful everyday that my undergraduate experience at Creighton led me to Eric, Preston and Lucas.

It is precisely my undergraduate experience at Creighton that motivates me now as I serve as a faculty member to current Creighton undergraduates in the Biology department.  I am passionate about my desire for Creighton students and, in particular female students, to experience the intellectual challenge and close mentorship that I did when I was an undergraduate student.  I may not have always liked the work I had to put into studying for my courses but the effort required of me from my professors paid off in many ways.  I developed studying and time management skills.  I learned how to interact with and teach my peers.  I was taught how to digest primary literature and interpret experimental data.  I shown how to do form a hypothesis, develop my own experiments, analyze data, and present my work.  All of my coursework, teaching and research provided me with the tools and confidence to pursue a doctoral degree in biology.  I continue to use these same tools now as I balance family with teaching and research as an assistant professor.  Hopefully the my presence as a female faculty member (along with my other female colleagues) shows younger women that one can balance work outside of the home and family if they so choose.  As faculty, I firmly believe that my most important role is to pass on the intellectual, time management, and communication skills I developed as an undergraduate biology major to my students.  I am passionate about my duty to push students beyond their comfort zone in the classroom and laboratory so that they can expand their own skill set and increase their confidence as they prepare for future challenges in life. 

Kindly,

Dr. Annemarie Shibata

Assistant Biology Professor