HUNTINGDON COLLEGE
News Release
July 23, 2020
For more information, contact:
Su Ofe, (334) 833-4515; news@hawks.huntingdon.edu
Sidney Ison Achieves ASBMB Certification
Montgomery, Ala.—Huntingdon College Class of 2020 graduate Sidney Ison of Huntsville, Alabama, became the second graduate in the College’s history to achieve certification from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) this summer.
“The ASBMB offers certification to a biochemistry degree earned in an ASBMB-accredited program,” said Dr. Doba Jackson, chair of Huntingdon’s Department of Chemistry. “The student must take the exam upon graduation and score high enough to award the distinction. Nationally only about four in ten students achieve the distinction. The certification is something students can put on their resume when they apply for positions since the ASBMB is recognized throughout the United States.” Huntingdon’s biochemistry major earned ASBMB accreditation in 2018.
“Achieving this milestone means the world to me because I have worked so hard to get here,” said Ison. “I cannot tell you how many nights I practically slept in the library studying and preparing myself.”
To prepare for the test, Ison said she had to change the way she studied. “I knew it was important that I made sure I understood and retained what we learned in class, rather than just being able to memorize and regurgitate the information for the next test. It was difficult at first but completely necessary. I would not have been successful in achieving this certification had I not altered the way I studied.”
During her Huntingdon years, Ison shadowed physicians at the Montgomery Surgical Center and at Huntsville Hospital, served as a medical assistant for ENT Associates of Montgomery, and worked in the reading room at Baptist Medical Center-South. She completed and published original undergraduate research on the metal content in monarch butterflies and in deer hooves, and presented research for the Huntingdon College Academic Showcase, 2019; the 257th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (Orlando, Fla.), 2019; the Interdisciplinary STEM REU Symposium at Auburn University, 2018; and the 2nd World Chemistry Conference and Exposition in Valencia, Spain, 2018. She completed a selective undergraduate research experience at Auburn University. In addition to serving as a Huntingdon Ambassador and a Resident Assistant, Ison served as president of the College’s Pre-Health Club and as a four-year member of the varsity women’s basketball team. She was named the 2019 Homecoming Queen.
Ison expressed gratitude to her Huntingdon Department of Chemistry faculty members for helping her achieve her goals. “I wouldn’t be where I am right now without the help of Dr. Jackson, Dr. Maureen Murphy, Dr. John Berch, and Professor Jaime Demick. Whether holding study sessions, one-on-one advising, or just offering encouragement and support, each one of these professors worked diligently to provide whatever resource they could to ensure my success. There was never a time that I felt I could not come to one of them for help or advice. The support system I gained from them contributed immensely to my success and to this milestone I have reached.”
In recognition of her academic achievement, Ison was inducted into the honor societies Alpha Beta, Phi Eta Sigma, and Sigma Sigma Sigma during spring 2020.
She plans a career as a cardiologist and will begin applying to medical schools this fall.
Huntingdon College continues a legacy of faith, wisdom, and service through a residential liberal arts academic tradition grounded in the Judeo-Christian heritage of the United Methodist Church.
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