News at St. Catherine's
Jennet Dickinson '10 Returns to Campus for Lunch Lecture
St. Catherine's alumna offers advice to Upper Schoolers looking to study science in college.
During a lunchtime lecture, Jennet Dickinson ’10 spoke to Upper School students about her experience transitioning from high school to college as a S.T.E.M. student.
Dickinson is currently a junior at Columbia University, double-majoring in physics and math. During her sophomore year she started working on the MicroBooNE project at Columbia University’s Fermilab as an undergraduate research assistant.
She credits her two-year minimester astronomy project with Upper School teacher Joe Mahler in sparking her interest in research. Dickinson was also the June Scholar of her graduating class.
Despite her credentials, Dickinson, was initially intimidated by many of her science and math classmates.
“There were students in my class that were international math champions and another student had written and published a book on calculus,” Dickinson said. “It was intimidating. You will meet a lot of these people and you will think you can’t compete, but you can. You can be just as good of a scientist as them.”
During her sophomore year, Dickinson saw a presentation on Neutrinos particles that captured her interest. After getting in touch with the leaders of the MicroBooNE project studying Neutrino particles she joined the team. She is now fluent in three computer based languages crucial to varying processes in the MicroBooNE project.
After graduation Dickinson plans to attend graduate school and would like to pursue the fields of theoretical and computer physics.
Next year, as president of the Columbia University Physics Club, Dickinson plans to recruit more women for membership.
“The other female members of the club will be graduating this year,” she said. “So I’d like to add some female energy. It’s always helpful to speak to girls and get advice from someone with experience.”
Located in the heart of Richmond, Virginia, St. Catherine’s School is a private, all-girls pre-K, kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school. We provide a well-rounded educational experience for girls from communities across Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico and all of central Virginia. St.Catherine’s all-girls educational experience is rooted in more than a century of history and tradition. From our revolutionary past to our dynamic present, St. Catherine’s has always focused on preparing students for a boundless future.
