Monica Best has been selected as an undergrad chem major of the quarter for Fall 2012.  Monica grew up in Portland, OR and attended La Salle High School. Her junior and senior-year chemistry courses in high school solidified her interest in Chemistry.  When she visited OSU, she was impressed with the Chemistry Department and specifically credits Chris Pastorek with telling her all the great things going on here.  She is in her junior year right now – working in Adjunct Chemistry faculty member Jennifer Field’s laboratory.  She is unsure if she plans to attend graduate school, but hopes to stay in Oregon (or the Northwest) after she graduates. She is a fan of the TV crime dramas such as NCIS (particularly the lab tech Abby Sciuto) which has inspired her interest in the forensic science-chemistry option (with a toxicology minor).  She has enjoyed participating in the Chemistry Club within the Department – particularly the laid back feel and the expectation that the students do the work.  Her favorite courses so far have been Experimental Chemistry with Emile Firpo and John Loeser where she tells us that the student gets to be the “brain of it” – deciding what they are going to do.  She is taking Physical Chemistry this term and really has enjoyed Professor Glenn Evans’ passion and enthusiasm in the classroom. Outside of chemistry, she likes going to OSU football games, swimming and waterskiing in the summer time and crafting ”everything” from picture frames to scrapbooks.  She also recently joined the OSU Flying Club to learn how to fly.  It is talented and diverse students like Monica that help to make the OSU Chemistry program so strong!