Olivet Nazarene University graduate Macy (Murray) Sprunger ’17 is taking the next step in her career. She is entering the Ph.D. program in chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis.
“My undergraduate research experience at Olivet was very important in my being accepted into the Ph.D. program at Washington University,” says Macy, who has set the goal of becoming a chemistry professor. While an Olivet student, Macy and her chemistry professor, Dr. Douglas Armstrong, received a Pence-Boyce research grant from Olivet — one of several such grants funded by Olivet alumni and available annually to STEM students.
Macy began her research project at Olivet in summer 2016 and was able to continue it during the 2016–2017 academic year. During Scholar Week 2017, she presented some of her findings. “Getting in the lab that summer and doing this research project, eight hours a day for 10 weeks, showed me that graduate school would be a good fit for me,” she says.
For her Ph.D., she is in a five-year program, completing some coursework and working as a teaching assistant for undergraduate courses. With three years of required research, she has the opportunity to pursue her own questions within the context of a professor’s funded project. Her area of interest is neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Macy is married to Sam Sprunger ’17. He is the children’s ministry director at Webster Groves Church of the Nazarene, Webster Groves, Missouri.
To learn more about Olivet’s areas of study in the sciences, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
