When Michael Nieves was looking for colleges, he wanted something completely different from home. “St. Lawrence was perfect because it seemed like the complete antithesis of New York City,” the Bronx, NY, and DeWitt Clinton High School graduate says. “I figured this would be a good place for me to just study, and that’s what I wanted.”  As soon as he visited campus, he knew for sure St. Lawrence was the right fit.

Michael found ways to make a smooth transition to college, saying he became “immersed in the SLU way of life.”  He points out that the First-Year Program (FYP) and the idea of living with people you attend class with made the change easier; he adds that the relationships he formed in his FYP have continued throughout his time at St. Lawrence. He has since joined SaGA, SLU’s sexuality and gender activism group; served as vice president of the Math Club; has been on numerous admissions panels; and performed two summers of research as a McNair Scholar under different mentors, most recently Professor Ana Estevez of biology, exploring genetic regulation during anoxic stress in C. elegans, or transparent roundworms. Michael, a neuroscience major, also works in the Quantitative Resource Center as a mentor for students who handle numeric data, and recently started a neuroscience journal club with a fellow major.

With a Ph.D. program in his future, Michael is grateful for his liberal arts education. “I feel more well-rounded; in my professional field, having a breadth of knowledge allows you to see the implications of your work,” he explains.” I’ll be going into science and research, but there may be opportunities in business streaming off of that.  “I feel versatile having a liberal arts education; I’m more prepared for the future, whatever it brings.”