Widener

Name:

Kaitlyn Gerhart

Class of :

2009

Major:

Chemistry

Hometown:

Quakertown, PA

Biography:

Well, as previously stated my name is Kaitlyn and I'm a chemistry major.  I tend to stray away from answering personal questions because I'm strongly introverted, but I suppose I can oblige today.  You've caught me in a good mood.  I was born at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, approximately ten minuets from my hometown of Quakertown.  I'm a sibling to three, two younger brothers and an older sister.  I don't remember a lot of my childhood, mostly because I don't care to.  I was a very frustrated child.  In second grade I was diagnosed with a visual-motor learning disability.  To be honest, that's a really broad term but what it meant for me was that I couldn't read nor could I spell.  Obviously these are two obstacles I've managed to overcome since then.  I was in learning support classrooms for English through most of elementary school.  By 5^th grade I was reading at a decent enough level that they mainstreamed me.  I still couldn't spell very well at that point, but the head of the resource room basically told me that I probably would never be able to.  With that knowledge, I started writing the summer before 6^th grade.  During the course of my middle school career I managed to overcome the spelling issue.  Half way through 9^th grade I tested into the gifted program.  I took several journalism and composition classes in high school and was actually the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper for my freshman and sophomore years.      

What is your dream job?

To be honest, I have no idea what my dream job is yet.  All I know at this point is that it will involve helping people and, more than likely, chemistry.

What advice would you give to a prospective Widener student?

Read your textbooks.  Always read your textbooks.  Even when you're up to date with the material, read your textbooks to get ahead.  Trust me, it pays off.

What do you like to do outside of the classroom?

Well, when I'm not drowning in textbooks and homework I find time to listen to music and talk to my family first and foremost.  If I'm on campus, I usually watch Law & Order or House in my spare time.  I also enjoy gaming.  If I'm home, I spend the majority of my time just hanging out with my parents and siblings and playing with my ferrets.  Should the spirit move me I play piano or guitar, though not very well.  I also like writing but my muse seems to be hiding these days.   

What was your favorite classroom project?

Actually the unknowns that we're working on right now in Organic II lab are probably my favorite.  I like solving puzzles, and I just think it's neat that I now have the knowledge base to walk into a lab and figure out what an unknown sample is.