A class sparks a passion
Hagan has truly had an amazing career at the College, specifically as a student of chemistry. While at John Jay High School in Brewster, N.Y., Hagan had an AP Chemistry teacher who sparked Hagan's interest in the subject. However, Hagan "got passionate" about chemistry when she took Chemistry 15 with Professor of Chemistry Joseph Kushick during her first semester of college.
During the summer after Hagan's first year, she received a Hughes Summer Research Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. As a Hughes Fellow, Hagan worked with Professor of Chemistry Mark Marshall on a project called "Stark Effect Spectroscopy: Determination of the Dipole Moment of 1,1-Difluoroethene in an Excited Vibrational State." In the fall of her sophomore year she declared chemistry as her major, though she had yet to decide on a specific field.
She soon discovered that biochemistry was the area that she wanted to pursue. She also caught the attention of the faculty in the chemistry department as a brilliant student. "She combines an impressive intellectual flexibility and ability to master new experiments and concepts with dedication and motivation," said Professor of Chemistry Helen Leung. "She is thoughtful, open-minded and well-rounded and simply a delightful student."
Hagan also was a teaching assistant in a number of courses and worked with Leung as a research student in the summer of 2003. She was a 2004 Pfizer Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, working at Amherst with Professor of Chemistry David Hansen. In the spring of her junior year, Hagan received the David R. Belevetz '54 Memorial Fund in Chemistry Award.
Hagan has received a slew of awards from the chemistry department for her work. In 2003 she was the winner of the Undergraduate Award for Achievement in Organic Chemistry, sponsored by the American Chemical Society. This award is given annually to the student who has the best grade point average in organic chemistry.
At the senior assembly, Hagan received the Howard Waters Doughty Prize and the Everett H. Pryde Award. The Pryde Award is "presented annually to a senior who has been an outstanding teaching assistant in Chemistry and who shows great promise for carrying out research in science or medicine." The Doughty Prize is "awarded to that member of the senior class who, in the opinion of the Chemistry Department, has prepared the best honors thesis."
"I have been really surprised by the awards I have gotten this year," said Hagan. "I never expected to have these kinds of opportunities."
Extraordinary opportunities
What is perhaps Hagan's best opportunity, however, is yet to come. Hagan has received a scholarship from the Winston Churchill Foundation for the next school year. Through this scholarship, Hagan will attend the University of Cambridge where she will complete a Master of Philosophy program in Chemistry. In this program Hagan will join Cambridge Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology Chris Dobson's research group. She will be studying how the misfolding of certain proteins may lead to the development of illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, type II diabetes and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
After spending a year at the University of Cambridge, Hagan will cross back over the Atlantic and go to another school in Cambridge. She will be attending Harvard University for a Ph.D. program and hopes to earn a doctorate in chemistry. Eventually, Hagan would like to go into academia. "I like the idea of teaching and doing research," she said.
Hagan's professors are very confident that she will succeed. "I think she will do important, original research in chemistry, and her success will add luster to the College's reputation," said Chickering. "Her awards and accomplishments speak for themselves," added Hansen. "She is truly an extraordinary student."
In addition to Hagan's interest in chemistry, she enjoyed English as well while at Amherst. "I am just one class short of an English major," said Hagan. "I wish that I had realized that I liked English sooner, and done more with English."
Hagan is also an avid dancer. "I began taking dance lessons when I was three years old at the Westchester Theatre Dance Academy," she said.Though Hagan claimed, "I haven't been able to dance as much as I would have liked to here at Amherst," she was a member of Amherst Dance and Five College Dance for four years and has done some choreography.
Since the second semester of her freshman year, Hagan also has been involved in ACEMS. She was the Director of Operations for one and a half years. Hagan is also in the Newman Club, where she has participated as a member and a lector since September 2001.
Connections
Some of Hagan's best experiences at Amherst have been with her friends. She has lived with the same people for four years-they all lived on the second floor of North Dormitory during their freshman year. ("The Housing Office did a really good job our freshman year," Hagan said.) One of Hagan's perpetual roommates, Laura Schlosnagle '05, had nothing but praise for Hagan. "Since her last name is Hagan, we sometimes like to call her 'the Pagan' because she is totally the opposite," said Schlosnagle. "Christine is one of the most hard-working people I have ever met; here or everywhere. What sets her apart from most people is her commitment to intellectual integrity."
Esther Lim '05 also commented on Hagan's intelligence: "Christine is the smartest person I know." It's a bold statement, considering the caliber of Amherst students, but it is also a wholly deserved one.