Post Grad Profile: Alex

Alex Levine is a prime example of how dreams, goals and life can change while in college to shape your life when you get out.

1.     What did you want to do going into college? I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do going into college.  I was considering pharmacy school, but was basically pre-med.
2.     What did you end up doing?  I ended up dropping the pharmacy and pre-med ideas because I realized I didnt want to be behind a counter my whole life, nor working around sick people.  I graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry, and wouldn't have it any other way.
3.     What is your most ideal post grad life? Post-grad life was a difficult choice for me.  I very much wanted to drop the classes and pick up a 9-5 job at a chemical company.  Had a few good leads too.  However, I decided that if I was at all interested in getting a PhD (which has always been the dream), that I needed to go straight from undergraduate into grad school.  It was the only way to keep the motivation to pursue the PhD.  I think I made the right decision.  So ideally, to answer your question, I want to be in grad school pursuing a PhD, and being successful.  Time will tell whether the latter will be true.
4.     Where did you go? For undersrad I attended Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY.  Then for Graduate School I am now at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) working toward a PhD in Biochemistry
5.     How did your plan change along the way? I think I answered this aready.
6.     What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far? There are 3 things I've learned in the past 4 years. A) How to live B) How to love  C) How to learn.  In that order. Now that I'm in grad school, I'm learning how to be myself.