Meet the NDoO

Meet the NBoD

Get to know the NDoO: Morgan Bixby

What was your School/ Chapter/ Major?

Bachelor's degrees in Genetics and Microbiology from Iowa State University - Epsilon Chapter - Alpha Alpha Class, part of the Sapphire family

Where are you now (and w hat are you doing professionally)?

I currently live in Saint Paul, MN where I am a second year PhD student at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy studying experimental and clinical pharmacology. My area of focus is infectious disease pharmacology, and my current research is in clinical antimicrobial resistance.

What does your family look like?

I've got some parents and siblings (2), but what I am most excited about is my cousins?kids (5 little ones between the two of them). This summer the oldest of them (3 years old) told me I?m her cool older cousin.

that's your favorite thing to do with your free time?

As a graduate student and NDoO I find myself with limited free time but, when I discover pockets of free time, I like to do relaxing things (watch TV/movies, craft projects, baking an insane amount of [holiday] treats the weekend after I finish a semester).

What do you do really well?

It may sound very uncool, but I think I?m pretty great at wrapping presents. So I'm basically thriving this time of year!

What are you a fan of?

A lot of things but to name a few: yellow furniture, warm weather and sunshine (conveniently I live in Minnesota), realistic/believable science fiction media (but also time travel stuff too), crime scene procedurals, and Schitts Creek.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Cheesy/bad Holiday movies, but really I?ll take any time of year as a backdrop for that cheesy Hallmark Channel style content.

Who made the biggest impact on w ho you are today?

I'm going to take a more unconventional route to answering this question by saying the gastroenterologist who gave me the Crohn's Disease diagnosis. It's not so much him, but the words he said that have made the biggest impact on my life. I had to change so many aspects of my life to prioritize my health and gained so much clarity about my past. While they were scary, unexpected words to hear him say, they have empowered me so much to advocate for myself in all settings and have allowed me to connect with so many amazing people with the same or similar chronic health conditions.

What was the best advice you ever received?

Speak up for yourself!

What led you to being NDoO?

Kellee asked me if I would consider running. I was the Exploratory Committee chair at the time and helped write the proposals for the LC and continuous education pilot.

If you had one piece of advice for a Sister just starting out in ΑΣΚ what would it be?

Everyone will always tell you that you get out what you put in. While that is true, don't be hard on yourself if your ability to put in looks different than others'. Nobody wants you to sacrifice your mental or physical health to keep up with other people who have more bandwidth than you at any given point; advocate for yourself in times of need.

What's your top priority for the next year?

Helping all our Active Chapter Members to feel connected to their Chapter while at a distance.

The Inside Loop

Royal Blue or Silver? Silver

Do you know your Hogwarts House and, if so, what is it? Ravenclaw

What is your Favorite branch of science? Microbiology

What w as your First job? Sales associate at Old Navy

Favorite season? The 2 weeks of spring we get in the midwest

Who is your Woman in STEM icon (living or dead)? Rosalind Franklin

If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Berlin, Germany

What might someone be surprised to know about you? I'm in the process of reclaiming familial citizenship in Luxembourg

What was your most memorable vacation? My semester abroad in Wales

What is your Favorite book? Anything by Robin Cook

When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? The other night on the phone with my younger sister when she called me out for some very predictably me things (eg. being a Christmas wrapping control freak) when she was talking to my boyfriend

What one superpower would you want ? Flying would be cool

If you could only have one food for t he rest of your life, what would it be? macaroni and cheese