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Tesfai maintains a
smile through all the stress of an 18-hour course load.
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Mind
in Motion
Note: This story was published originally
in the summer 2003 issue of MIZZOU, the magazine of
the MU Alumni Association.
Story by Chris Blose
Photos by Steve Morse
If Aaron Tesfai holes up in his room on
a Saturday with his face in a book and his stereo turned up
to drown out his roommates’ ESPN or neighbors’ video
games, it isn’t because he’s antisocial. Far from
it. He just has a lot of work to finish before he can be social.
He makes to-do lists every night to keep
up with the next day’s tasks: chemistry homework, Latin
translations, work in the lab and everything else that comes
with a double major and an 18-hour course load.
This practice goes back a long way. Tesfai’s
mother, Turu Negash, says he was an atypical child who felt
compelled to finish work before he went out to play. Some of
that motivation might have come from her and her husband, who
both moved to Jefferson City, Mo., from Eritrea, in eastern
Africa, before he was born. Like many other immigrants, Negash
says, they encouraged their children to pursue careers in science,
especially medicine.
Tesfai spends much of his time
in the lab. His dedication has
paid off with three publication
co-authorships and a presentation
at a chemistry conference.
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Ultimately, Tesfai, a senior majoring in
biochemistry and classical studies, has found his own path and
passion in the lab. Although he has always thought about a medical
career, conducting research for all four years of college opened
his eyes to different possibilities. The analytical nature of
scientific research appeals to him, as does the potential for
making discoveries and new developments. He is part of a growing
number of MU students who have discovered the options offered
for undergraduates not just to get their feet wet, but to dive
right into research.
Tesfai has been working with the Tucker
Group, a chemistry research team under Associate Professor
Sheryl Tucker, since the second semester of his freshman year,
winter 2000. He began working with the group through MU’s
EXPRESS
program, which encourages underrepresented minorities to
participate in scientific research by offering them part-time
lab work. Over time, he has become so independent that some
people assume he’s a graduate student, Tucker says.
Tesfai’s projects with the Tucker
Group include work on a special polymer that can hold and carry
other molecules. In keeping with his ideas about the potential
of research, the polymer could have practical applications such
as delivering drugs within the body and dealing with pollutants
in environmentally sound ways.
Tesfai attacks the ball with
Gebrehiwet Aradom and Zeru Mengisteab, both from his parents’
home country of Eritrea, in a game at Cosmo-politan Recreation
Area. He plays weekly games such as this during warm weather
and intramural soccer in the spring. |
Some semesters, he has earned money for
research through the Life
Sciences Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. He
also received the Goldwater
Scholarship, a highly selective award for students in mathematics,
engineering and natural sciences. This spring he was no longer
getting paid to work, but he still showed up at the lab to help
run samples and analyze data, despite the mounting pile of work
he had to do elsewhere. It’s yet another project for him
to see to completion, especially because he’s been working
on it since its beginning.
Tesfai’s time isn’t spent entirely
on work, though. He burns off his excess energy in the weight
room, where each lift and curl and grunt releases a little of
the student’s stress. He goes to the soccer field at Cosmopolitan
Recreation Area for friendly competition with what he calls
his “cousins,” Eritreans living in the Columbia
area.
He also has his friends, who are there to
remind him not to be so serious all the time. He might work
all day on a Saturday, but come 10 p.m., he’s ready to
trade the books for a night out and temporarily forget the to-do
list.
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Last Update:
July 2, 2008
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