THE DISCIPLINE AND BRAVERY TO SERVE AND SUCCEED

By Barbara McBreen

The Bronze Star is presented to individuals who have performed a brave or praiseworthy act while serving in the United States military during times of combat.

Tyler Bauman is one of those individuals.

In 2002, as a freshman in animal science, Bauman was deployed to Kuwait after his first week at Iowa State University. There he managed Kuwait’s Ash Shuaybah Seaport. After his first tour, Bauman wanted to do more, so he volunteered for a second deployment to Iraq where he worked as a gun truck driver. He logged more than 30,000 accident-free miles during combat patrols.

Bauman received the Bronze star for his service in Iraq and reached the rank of staff sergeant.

“We had to outfit convoys with gun trucks for protection,” Bauman says. “We were a heavily outfitted patrol with a lot of weapons systems.”

Adapting to change was Bauman’s biggest challenge when he returned home. He says soldiers are focused on their job during deployment and remember home as their safe zone.

“A lot of people had changed and I had changed, but I expected everyone to be the same when I returned,” Bauman says. “I spent 19 years learning things one way and one year completely altered my perspective.”

Bauman, now a graduating senior, is the Cyclone Battalion Commander in the Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC). He understands the importance of helping juniors train for national rankings. In 2008, he was ranked 67 out of 4,700 ROTC students for his academic and leadership performance at the national level.

ROTC training is rigorous and demanding. From the daily runs to executing mission exercises in full combat gear, it’s all part of a program to develop discipline, Bauman says. At one ROTC training exercise in April, Bauman talked and joked with peers before exercises began. His demeanor became more serious when he had to address one of his cadets. He says undergraduates look up to him because he’s had combat experience.

“Having a combat patch has this effect on new cadets, they understand that I know what’s going on and I have experience,” Bauman says. “I’ve been exposed to war and I have realistic view about how the military works in a combat environment.”

Military training provided Bauman with the discipline and leadership skills he uses today. He says after returning to campus from his second deployment he was more focused and made the Dean’s list seven consecutive semesters. Bauman pursues the highest standards in everything he does. It’s resulted in a list of awards including this year’s Class of 2010 Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award and the L.N. Hazel Award.

Bauman’s passion is poultry science. In the sixth grade he brought eight chicks home from a school incubation project and he’s been fascinated ever since.

“I just love chickens. They are so simple,” Bauman says.

Collecting fresh eggs is part of Bauman’s daily routine. He may be one of the few egg producers in Ames. In a new garage, which he and his father built, you’ll find 16 laying hens in a spacious coop with an outdoor run. Bauman says one of the hens is blind, so he hand delivers her to a nest every evening.

Between studies, ROTC and serving as an undergraduate teaching assistant for two animal science classes, Bauman enjoys building and remodeling. He’s remodeled his home, fenced the yard, paved the driveway, built a garage and takes care of his chickens. He grew up on the edge of Adel, Iowa and picked up his skills working for his father at the grain elevator.

Bauman graduated in May with several honors he attributes to his nine years of service in the Army Reserves. Next fall Bauman will enter vet school at Iowa State. He plans to become a food animal veterinarian and he hopes to go into farming.

MESHING MEDICINE WITH MICROBIOLOGY

By Barbara McBreen

Standing center stage under the dome of Iowa’s capitol building in Des Moines, Jennifer Blaser spoke to a crowd of more than 100 about the importance of student research.

“Undergraduate research is an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, investigate diverse career paths and hone research skills,” Blaser says.

At the Iowa Regent Universities Fifth Annual Research in the Capitol, Blaser, a junior in microbiology, was chosen as the student speaker for the event held in March. She also was one of the 60 students showcasing research results during a poster presentation. Blaser’s research focused on her summer internship at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center and Department of Pharmacology.

“We looked at a bacterial cocaine estrase, which is an enzyme, and hypothesized that it would cleave the cocaine molecule and make it biologically inactive, thus protecting the heart,” Blaser says. “It’s a potential therapy for cocaine overdose.”

As president of the Microbiology Club, she helped organize a field day last fall for 60 high school students to come to campus and learn about microbiology.

At the field day students studied laboratory techniques, diagnostic testing and microscopy. Blaser says the goal is to get more students interested in science based careers.

“We want to open students’ minds to the possibility of pursuing a career in the sciences,” Blaser says.

At an open house during this spring’s Veishea celebration, the Microbiology Club enticed visitors to walk through a giant bacterial cell or purchase a stuffed microbe. Blaser says the open house is another opportunity to educate prospective students and parents.

Blaser, who plans to become a doctor, is not new to the medical field. In high school she traveled to Belize on a mission trip with her father, who is a physician. There she served as a pharmacy technician. She also went to Costa Rica and Nicaragua on an international service trip where she helped diagnose patients under a doctor’s supervision.

During the past year she’s served as vice president of membership for the Alpha Phi Omega National Service Organization, vice president of selections for Cardinal Key Honorary and vice president of the Pre-medical Club. She also promotes Iowa State as an admissions representative and takes prospective students and parents on campus tours.

“It’s all volunteer and we are all passionate about showing off the Iowa State campus,” Blaser says.

Blaser understands the importance of a campus visit. It’s one of the reasons she chose Iowa State. She says the campus was much larger than her high school, but people on campus were friendly and welcoming. And, she says, it’s been a perfect fit.

“Iowa State has given me more than I could possibly have imagined through the numerous opportunities to succeed in academics, service and leadership,” Blaser says.

SWABBING AN OWL AND OTHER TALES OF WILDLIFE CARE

By Barbara McBreen

Spring is a busy time at the Wildlife Care Clinic. Erica Eaves can attest to that. Early in April she spent one 10-hour day working with veterinarians trying to save a bobcat.

“The bobcat had been hit by a car and both its rear legs and pelvis were fractured,” Eaves says. “We spent most of the day with the bobcat, but it didn’t make it because its wounds were several days old.”

That was a trying day for Eaves, a junior in animal ecology, who is passionate about rehabilitating injured wild animals.

“It’s so rewarding to help animals and send them back to their natural habitat,” Eaves says.

Eaves knew she wanted to work with animals, but wasn’t interested in becoming a veterinarian. She didn’t know where her major would take her until she began working at the clinic. Now, she works 20 hours a week during the school year and up to 60 hours a week during the summer.

Walking through the three-room clinic, which is housed inside the Iowa State University Veterinary Medical Center, Eaves describes each animal’s history, injury and behavior.

“I grew up catching frogs and other animals in our yard,” Eaves says. “I always knew I wanted to do something with animals.”

As Eaves holds Screechy, an eastern screech owl and permanent resident at the clinic, she talks about how he hasn’t forgiven her for the daily cheek swabs she did last fall. The testing was part of her undergraduate research project comparing bacteria in the digestive tract of captive birds to birds in the wild. Her results and analysis showed there was a difference.

As Screechy eyes Eaves suspiciously, she explains that most animals in the clinic are not given names to prevent human attachment.

Next to Screechy’s cage is a one-winged American kestrel. Eaves says the kestrel was found on the tarmac at the Des Moines Airport, so she may have been hit by a plane. The doctors decided to amputate her wing to save her life.

“Most of our patients are here because of human contact,” Eaves says. “Many patients have been hit by cars, but several baby animals are brought in mistakenly because people think they are orphaned.”

The student-run clinic survives on donations and Eaves is enthusiastic about marketing the program and its educational events. After she graduates in 2011, Eaves plans to pursue a career in wildlife rehabilitation and work in a clinic similar to the one in Ames.

##

To visit the Wildlife Care Clinic online or learn how to donate, visit http://vetmed.iastate.edu/vmc/wcc.

FROM BOOKING BANDS TO BASKETBALL BRUGMAN WINS BIG

By Barbara McBreen

When the Iowa State University women’s basketball team made it to the “Sweet 16” B.J. Brugman was watching, analyzing and hoping for a win.

Brugman, a junior in agricultural business, is a point guard for the women’s scout team. That means he studies the plays of the opposing team and employs those same plays during practice sessions to give Iowa State the edge.

“My cousin was on the team 10 years ago and I remember hearing about it, so when I came to Iowa State I contacted the coach and asked about it,” Brugman says.

Playing opposite Alison Lacey, Iowa State’s point guard, isn’t an easy job, Brugman says, but it keeps him on his toes. Lacey, who graduated in May, was drafted by the WNBA Seattle Storms.

Latoja Schaben, the assistant Iowa State women’s basketball coach, said she recruited Brugman as soon as she saw him play. As the scout team point guard he’s a dedicated leader that keeps the team focused, which means the women’s team gets a good workout.

“Basically their job is to get our team ready,” Schaben says. “They have to learn the opposing teams plays in 20 minutes and to do that you have to know the game and understand it.”

Scout team members don’t get paid, but they do get a uniform, shoes and tickets to home games. Even though the practice schedule is demanding – nine hours a week – it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“It really gives you a different perspective when you watch the game,” Brugman says.

The Iowa State women’s basketball team made it to the final NCAA tournament, but lost its first game to the University of Connecticut. Brugman is proud to have been part of the scout team that may have helped the Iowa State place among the top 16 teams nationally.

Playing on the scout team has kept Brugman in shape, but he hopes his college degree will help him attain another goal. Someday he’d like to hold the position of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

For now he’s the vice president of alumni relations for Alpha Gamma Rho and served as the co-chair for the 2010 Veishea entertainment committee. Organizing and implementing entertainment for the largest student-run event in the nation was challenging and rewarding.

“We had a full house at every event,” Brugman says. “The committee worked extremely hard to bring in a variety of artists. It was exciting to see it all come together.”

This summer Brugman has an internship at CHS Inc., which manufactures soybean oil, as a grain merchandiser in Mankato, Minn.
“Last summer I worked for Syngenta on the production side and this summer I’ll help clients decide when to sell,” Brugman says.

Next year he’ll continue to play on the Iowa State women’s basketball scout team. He’ll also take on a more responsibilities as the general co-chair for the 2011 Veishea.