Alumni Referral Award helped me choose Wartburg
Personal mentors who went to church with Grace Roseen ‘22 always talked about Wartburg College, where the couple first met. They advised Roseen to visit the college, but she did not originally think it had any appeal. She was quickly proven wrong when she decided to visit campus on a whim.
“As soon as I came to campus and had a tour, it was the perfect fit for me. I’m a neuroscience major and that was something I was really looking for, and that was something that Wartburg had. I also talked to Coach Pins because I wanted to play soccer here, and I knew she was the perfect coach for me. Then I knew that this was the right fit and program for both academics and sports,” said Roseen, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
When she decided to attend, Roseen received the Alumni Referral Award. The award is worth $4,000 over the course of four years and is provided in the name of the alumni who made the referral. To refer a student, an alumni must submit a student referral form during the student’s time in high school before they apply to Wartburg. Roseen expressed how much this award meant to her and how she wishes to also provide to a future prospective student with the same opportunity now that she is an alum.
“The alumni referral program has been great for me. Again, it was the whole reason why I came here, and it means a lot to me. I had always heard about Wartburg pride, and now I definitely see where it is all coming from. I would love to be able to guide other students to this place,” Roseen said.
The award is not the only thing that Roseen has earned during her time on campus. She was a member of the Scholars Program and various honors societies including Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Chi, and Psi Chi. She has also completed several research projects as she progressed in her psychology and neuroscience majors, all while playing soccer and even becoming captain her senior year.
“My junior year, I completed my psychology research, but then my professors helped me to figure out a way to expand that research. I applied for and received a grant through Wartburg, and I was able to do research on campus all summer to expand on my project. I was then able to present it in Chicago at the Midwest Psychological Conference. This past fall, I completed my neuroscience research, during which we were the first group to do brain injury research at Wartburg. I am really interested in how brain injuries affect cognition and behavior, and we had brought up this idea to our professors in the neuroscience department. They helped us to make it work, and now other projects have used our methods to go in other directions,” Roseen said.
The research was meant to fulfill requirements of her neuroscience and psychology majors, which build in undergraduate research help students to stand apart from other candidates for jobs and graduate school. Roseen explained how her own research has helped her in the process of applying to jobs for after college.
“While I was interviewing, people were really impressed with how much research experience I had. I have had different types of research experiences with different skills that I was able to gain at Wartburg. I was happy to know just how huge that is. I always knew that Wartburg was amazing in the research aspect, but I didn’t realize how lucky we are,” Roseen said.
After Wartburg, Roseen will work as a research assistant at Ohio State University helping with a study on traumatic brain injuries and their effects on various factors and diseases. She also has plans to go on to graduate school to earn a Ph.D. in clinical neuropsychology. She is thankful for the experiences she had at Wartburg and the skills she gained.
“It helps you grow as a whole person. I feel I have gained personal skills as well as professional skills and research skills. It has provided me with a lot of opportunities for fun activities, as well as for leadership and to grow academically. I have been fortunate to do a lot here, and I am very happy with what I have gained from this experience.”