Student Athlete Biology Majors 

3/2/24

 

 

In honor of James Watson’s, the biologist who helped discover DNA, whose birthday falls on April 6th, we are going to look at the Biology major at MCCC and our student athletes in this major.

 

Freshman men’s basketball player Jayson Love (Philadelphia, PA/Academy at Palumbo) is a Biology major.  Love averaged 10.4 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game and shot 52.1% from the field.  Love helped the Vikings reach the Region 19 Semifinals.

 

Freshman softball player Makenna Spak (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) is a Biology major.  Spak is batting .375 and has 18 hits in 18 games for the Vikings this spring.  Spak earned All-Region and All-Conference All-Academic honors for fall 2023 semester.

 

Women’s tennis player Makenna Swasey (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) is also a Biology major.  Swasey is playing 5^th Singles and 3^rd Doubles for the Vikings this spring.

 

Men’s tennis player Jack Wolfarth (Ewing, NJ/Ewing HS) is a Biology major.  Wolfarth played 4^th Singles and 2^nd Doubles for the Vikings in 2023 and is the lone returning men’s player for the 2024 squad.  Wolfarth earned All-Region and All-Conference All-Academic honors for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023.

 

Women’s soccer player Vivian Kestler (Hamilton, NJ/Steinert) is also a Biology major.  Kestler scored one goal as a midfielder this fall and helped the Vikings reach the Region 19 Championship.

 

Following completion of the Biology program at MCCC, students can enter careers in ecology, conservation, biology, microbiology, pharmacy, forestry, entomology, genetics, biotechnology, and pre-professional fields of medicine and dentistry.  Graduates of the MCCC Biology program have completed ecology, conservation, biology, microbiology, pharmacy, forestry, entomology, genetics, biotechnology, and pre-professional fields of medicine and dentistry.

 

The biology facilities at MCCC include specially equipped laboratories for microbiology, genetics/molecular biology, and anatomy/physiology. Students learn a wide variety of investigative techniques, including microscopy, spectrophotometry, and gel electrophoresis. Real-life systems are studied through field trips to sites in the New Jersey Pinelands and elsewhere.

 

Goals of the Biology program at MCCC include: demonstrating an understanding of the fundamental principles, concepts, and terminology of biology; explaining the structures and fundamental processes of life at molecular, cellular, and organismal levels; viewing the living world with greater understanding, insight, and appreciation as it relates to the field of biology and contemporary problems and issues; demonstrating the ability to apply the scientific method of inquiry to gather and use information for the purposes of critical thinking, information analysis, and problem solving; and exhibiting proficiency in the laboratory and in the field by using standard equipment and measurement and observation techniques that allow one to gather, analyze, and interpret qualitative data.

 

We are proud of the success of our student athletes who are Biology majors on and off the courts and fields!

 

To learn more about the Biology major at MCCC, visit: https://www.mccc.edu/catalog/bio_as.shtml

 

To follow our student athletes and their sports teams, visit: https://www.mccc.edu/athletics_home.shtml