My Mizzou Stories
Nicole Niewald
Senior Nicole Niewald is taking an unusual detour before beginning a master's degree in public health. In her first job after graduation, Nicole Niewald will face challenges with the teenagers she'll encounter every day in inner-city New York. Only half of students from low-income communities graduate from high school. [new - February 2008]
more...
Marcus Adair
Not all MU students glide smoothly toward a degree. Many nontraditional students take a few hops or slides along the way. Marcus Adair, a senior in biological sciences, has taken a detour or two, but he's set to be the first in his family to graduate from college. [October 2007]
more...
Kate Hertweck
Kate Hertweck, a third-year graduate student in biological sciences, has a theory that some rare plants might be rare because of something in their chromosomes. She's received two grants in the past two years that enable her to continue doing field work — the necessary building block of most research. [September 2007]
more...
Katie Andres
Runner-up wasn't the title Katie Andres was hoping for when she competed in the finals of two national music competitions. But by winning second place in both events, the senior majoring in horn performance achieved a rare distinction. [April 2007]
more...
Nick Pena
Nick Pena’s haunting images of vintage 1970s station wagons serve as metaphors for a past society and its nuclear family of mom, dad, kids and a dog. His oil paintings create a convincing world that is memorable yet strange. [March 2007]
more...
Rachel Mahan
Right brain or left brain? Senior Rachel Mahan had a dilemma about whether to study science or creative writing. . . . “I came here because of the great creative writing program and MU’s investments in the life sciences,” she says. [March 2007]
more...
Paige Hendrix
Except for a few toddler years, Paige Hendrix had never lived anywhere except the state of Missouri. Then . . . the 21-year-old MU junior said goodbye to her parents in Neosho and her friends in Columbia to spend four months on the other side of the world. [new - 2007]
more...
John Ernst
John Ernst, a senior music student from Bonne Terre, Mo., population 4,000, is winner of the 2006 National Young Artist Composition Competition of the Music Teachers National Association.
more...
Nicholas Dudley
Nicholas Dudley’s mom says he was a shy, quiet child who spoke only when he had something to say. At MU, he found his voice and won a national debate championship.
more...
Chad Payton
Let the adventure begin for MU music student Chad Payton, winner of a $25,000 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship. As a Rotary Scholar, he will do nine months of post-graduate study at the University of Wellington in New Zealand, all expenses paid.
more...
Kyle Gustafson
This wasn’t your usual summer employment. In 2003, Kyle Gustafson worked at Lawrence Livermore National Labs in Livermore, Calif., on computer simulations of astrophysical dynamics. He studied black holes.
more...
Holly Huelskamp
Here’s a twist: a violin student who drove her parents crazy because she wanted to practice all the time. "They'd try to get me to stop," Holly Huelskamp, BM '03, says, "but I'd be rebellious and keep playing."
more...
Laura Jennings
Someday the pills you take at night or in the morning may have a University of Missouri connection. Laura Jennings, a senior at MU with majors in mathematics and chemistry, is well on her way toward a future in medicinal drug design.
more...
Justin McCurry
Cows are art to recent graduate Justin McCurry. At least they’re part of his art. McCurry works as a fitter, an animal groomer who answers to the beck and call of cattle ranchers aiming to win best in show.
more...
Alicia Miles
Sacagawea was in her teens when she joined the Lewis and Clark expedition. Vocal student Alicia Miles will be only 21 when she steps on the professional stage at Opera Memphis to portray the young Shoshone in a lead role.
more...
Ken Segelhorst
As captain of the MU Ranger Challenge Team, Cadet Ken Segelhorst leads his nine fellow cadets in competitions against battalions across the Midwest.
more...
Lance Swenson
When Lance Swenson learned he had received a fellowship from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in 2003, he and his adviser were making plans to revise his grant application.
more...