Honors College student selected as graduation ‘Banner Bearer’
Student Spotlight: Nicole Biddinger
December 7, 2016
By Emma Alexander,
Honors Communications Intern
With the end of the semester approaching, we not only have a week of final exams to look forward to, but a new class of graduates! If you find yourself in attendance at commencement, you may recognize the first College of Science Banner Bearer, Honors College student Nicole Biddinger. Although she says she is saddened that her time at Purdue is coming to a close, she shares, “I couldn’t be more proud to represent [the College of Science and Honors College] communities one final time at commencement.”
Nicole’s contributions to the Purdue community will not soon be forgotten. In order to commemorate her times at Purdue, I asked her to reflect on her involvements and accomplishments as a Boilermaker both on and off campus.
Biddinger, a native of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, will be receiving degrees in biology-health and disease. As an undergraduate student, she has served as a College of Science Ambassador, a Biology Ambassador, and she has most recently held the title of Vice President of the College of Sciences Student Council. As a second year student, Nicole was named one of Purdue University’s “Five Students Who Move the World Forward” and the Biological Sciences “Outstanding Sophomore Student.” Nicole has also been very involved in the Honors College community, serving as a course mentor for two years in addition to serving on the first Honors College Mentor Council. Biddinger also had the opportunity to represent the Honors College in April 2015 at Posters on the Hill in Washington, D.C., where she presented findings from the culmination of a three-year project conducted at Oklahoma State University on the capacity of organisms to adapt to heat stress. She looked at invertebrates resurrected from as far back as the 1500s. Unsurprisingly, Nicole has also been very involved in research at Purdue. She says working in Dr. Angeline Lyon’s lab helped her to experience the connections between science and medicine.
Looking forward, Biddinger aspires to aid underserved communities in the field of primary care pediatrics. She believes her experience at Purdue will have a lasting impact on her life and career.
“Leaving Purdue, I feel confident that my degree has formed a solid foundation for the next chapter of my education and my future career in medicine,” Biddinger said. “My interdisciplinary courses, rigorous research opportunities, extracurricular activities and study abroad experiences have cultivated memories and experiences that have expanded my worldview and toolkit of leadership skills. I have no doubt that the ways my time at Purdue and in the Honors College encouraged challenging my perspective and way of thinking will last with me into my future career.”