Day in the Life of a Biology Major

For most college students, getting up early is a dreaded and despised task. Heather Gowton is not one of these students, however, as she is often crawling through the marshes of Wallops Island, Va., in search of her next biology experiment, when the first rays of sunlight escape over the horizon.

Gowton, a 20-year-old junior at Shippensburg University, came to Shippensburg as a freshman looking to expand on her passion for science. Gowton is a biology and secondary education major and has gained valuable and unforgettable experiences during her college years.

Gowton has always been known as the "smart one" in school. While growing up, Gowton's curiosity of the world expanded every day. As a child, she would spend hours of her time dissecting her family's Thanksgiving Day turkey. This is not something a typical child would do.

Then again, Gowton has always been unique.

"I just love the environment and finding out how things work," Gowton said. "I do love animals, but when I'm dissecting them, they're dead anyway. Why let them die in vain?"

In fact, Gowton has dissected cats, minks, cow eyes, sheep lungs, sheep brains, pig hearts, pig kidneys, and other smaller animals. Though some people find this disgusting, Gowton considers it a fun way to learn. The animals she dissects are donated, not killed purely for dissection.

One of her favorite places to do scientific research and gain field experience is Wallops Island. She loves to wake up early in the morning and travel through the island's marshes to observe different animals and organisms. The ground in the marshes is so soft that when standing in the marshes, the mud consumes the leg up to the upper thigh. Gowton actually has to crawl on the ground just to stay on top of it.

Gowton has also done research on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Comb Jellies are really cool in the bays. In the dark, you hit them and they light up. It's like you have stars above you and stars below you. It's so pretty. Of course, when you pick them up they look like snot, but they're not. They're animals," Gowton said.