Ian Smith

So, how did you spend your summer?

There’s an island off the coast of Maine with a marine research lab called Shoals, and they have classes out there that undergrads can go to. [Associate Professor of Biology Nick Gidmark] goes every year, and he brings a couple of students with him, so I asked if I could tag along.

As part of going, I did a research project on the diaphragm. I looked at the diaphragm of marine mammals and terrestrial mammals. I wanted to see what changes the marine mammals had from an aquatic environment vs. terrestrial mammals living on land.

What did you do as part of your research and time at Shoals?

We were there for two weeks, and we took basically an entire term’s worth of classes. Everyone did a little research project. Mine started a little earlier. I spent two weeks at Knox cutting things open and taking measurements, then once I was there, I continued what I was doing. 

What kind of dissections did you do?

We had a seven-foot-long hammerhead we were able to dissect. We had an angel shark, a night shark, lots of [other] sharks and fish, three seals, and a dolphin that was huge.

You are a music and biology double major. How do those two courses of study intersect, or do they?

I love singing. I’m in pretty much every choir at Knox and a couple outside of Knox. I love making music, but I also love doing research, and I love biology. I think music and biology are the only two fields that don’t interact with each other at all. I go between C.F.A. (Ford Center for the Fine Arts) and SMC (Umbeck Science-Mathematics Center) a lot, there’s really no interlap between the two, but I love them both and couldn’t quit one, so I decided to do them both.

Are there any clubs or extracurricular activities you are involved in at Knox?

I’m in a lot of choirs; I’m in five currently, three of which are at Knox. I’m also part of the German Club, which is weird since I’m not a German major or minor, but I took a year of it in my sophomore year. I really loved the professors, so that’s another one of my interests. 

Do you combine your love of German and music?

I sing in German a lot; German is my favorite, it’s the easiest for me. I sing in English, German, and Italian. I’m trying to get better at French, but it is a tough language; it’s really hard, but I’ve been taking voice and piano lessons at Knox. I’m a music major, so it’s like having two free lessons. With a lot of good faculty, I might as well take advantage.