Nicole Weaver, Sophomore Biology-Chemistry Major and Spanish Minor from Fort Wayne

“Why did you decide to attend Manchester?”
“There are several reasons. I play basketball here, so I joined the basketball team and I really love them. It’s close to where I live – that’s really nice. And also the academics here. I met with a professor and [I] really loved interacting with them.

“Why did you decide to study Bio-Chem?”
“I decided to study Bio-Chem because I really like to help people and I always knew that I had a passion for the science field and so I planned on taking my bio-chemistry major and going pre-med with it – I’m really excited for that.”

“What has been your favorite class you’ve taken so far?”
“My favorite class is probably ‘Principles of Biology’ because I’m a really outdoorsy person and a lot of the labs are outdoors and we worked with small animals last semester and that was really cool – we went down to the river for our first lab.”

“What are you involved in on campus?”
“I’m involved in basketball, I’m a part of the Student 300 club, and I’m looking to get involved in the art club. And then I also want to become a peer tutor.”

“What has been your favorite memory you’ve made so far?”
“My favorite memory is the day classes got cancelled from the power going out. It was such a beautiful day. It seemed like everyone on campus was outside. We were able to take a frisbee and a hammock out and just relax. It was even better that we didn’t have class the next day either so we could sleep in!”

“Could you talk a little bit about playing basketball and what it’s like being a student athlete?”
“Yeah, it’s a lot of balancing – it’s a juggling act. But the coaches and the professors, and even at the Success Center, everybody is here to help you so it made it really easy and it helped me to be successful. With the study tables, too, you have a designated time to put forth toward your studies and then you have your designated time to put forth toward basketball and so that’s made it really easy and really easy to plan.”

“Do you have a favorite memory from this basketball season?”
“I have a lot from this basketball season. One of them would probably be going to Peabody [and] we watched a movie with all the elderlies. It was so much fun and they loved it and we loved it so that was awesome.”

“What are your hobbies and interests?”
“I like to fish, I like sports, and I like to read, watch movies, and hang out with friends.”

“What is something most people don’t know about you?”
“I would say most people don’t know how passionate I am about animals. That’s not something I talk about a lot [while] going into the medical field, but I had always wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger. Part of me still kind of wants to do that, but I just think that I would be a lot happier helping kids than having to deal with sick animals because I get really emotionally attached to them.”