Whitman College student excels in research field - estudiante Kristi Contreras se beneficia de trabajar intensivamente en el laboratorio - TA: student Kristi Contreras benefits from working intensively in the laboratory

Hispanic Times Magazine, Dec, 1996

For assistant professor of chemistry James Russo, selecting students to join his summer research group is always a risk because excellence in the classroom doesn't necessarily translate into quality performance in the laboratory.

But Kristi Contreras, a Whitman College sophomore and a 1992 graduate of Edward W. Clark High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, proved to be a risk-free lab student when she joined Russo's group last summer to work on isolating and purifying enzymes from mouse and human tissues.

As a biology major, Contreras plans to pursue a medical career as an obstetrician. She favors that medical specialty because an obstetrician, in dealing with pregnancy and delivery, is "one of the few types of physicians whom people are happy to see."

Contreras feels confident about the undergraduate foundation she is building at Whitman. "Coming from Las Vegas to a small college, I expected close interaction with professors and staff. Yet my experience at Whitman College surprised me as to how close students can really get with professors. Professor Russo is extremely personal, comforting and speaks to the level of students. He is willing to take the time to explain thoroughly what I was doing in the lab. As my mentor, I feel I can go to him with both my academic and personal problems. He cares about me and other students."

Russo is impressed with Contreras and her dedication to scientific research. "She's well organized, thinks ahead and has a good pair of hands for lab work. Yet these alone are not sufficient criteria for good lab students. They also must have a strong commitment to independent work. Kristi was willing to work long stretches -- sometimes working until midnight or waking as early as 4 a.m."

Contreras is benefiting from lab research experience early in her undergraduate education that, according to Russo, is unique to small, liberal arts colleges. Whitman is recognized by the National Science Foundation as having one of the top 50 science-active programs among all liberal arts colleges in the nation.

The exploratory nature of lab research suits her well, Russo said, and with two years of study remaining before medical school, Contreras will eventually graduate from Whitman with an abundance of quality research and professional experience.

Contreras is the daughter of James and Brenda Contreras, Las Vegas.