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Employee Spotlight
Samantha Crane, Graduate Assistant – Pechous Lab
Where is your hometown? My hometown is Kansas City, Missouri, which is home to great barbecue, major sports teams like the Chiefs and the Royals, and a lot of fountains. Allegedly, Kansas City is second to Rome in the number of fountains it has.
Do you have a favorite family tradition? My favorite family tradition is a Christmas one where my husband and I make an adult advent calendar full with food and booze that we’ve never tried. It’s super fun to get little gifts every day and try new things!
What is your favorite movie and book? It’s hard to pick a favorite movie, but I really like adventure comedies. Movies like O Brother Where Art Thou and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle are my favorites.
My favorite book would have to be The Lord of the Rings. I have loved high fantasy ever since my dad made me watch the movies as a kid. The world is so rich, it has everything a reader could want (romance, action, adventure, etc.), and it’s such a classic that it’s inspired so many good works after it.
Ten years ago, what did you think you would be doing now? Ten years ago, I think I thought I would be running a lab somewhere. At the time, I had no idea how getting a Ph.D. works and it isn’t a typical four year degree. I still need to get my parents to understand that…
Top three highlights as a UAMS grad student? My top three highlights as being a grad student at UAMS would have to be being a member of the Graduate Student Association and helping serve the graduate community, going to any of the South Central ASM meetings and getting to know the department better, and going to Madagascar for my first talk on my Ph.D. work.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing? I hate doing the dishes at home. I cook 99% of the meals, and by the time the food is cooked and we’ve eaten, I don’t want to clean anything.
If you could meet anyone (dead or alive), who would it be and why? If also granted the ability to communicate with him, it would be neat to meet Leonardo da Vinci. He had such a brilliant and creative mind with his inventions and works of art.
Where would you like to go on a dream vacation? I would absolutely love to go to the Galapagos Islands for a dream vacation. Especially since it has historical significance in biology as Charles Darwin visited and wrote The Origin of Species during/after his time there. The biodiversity and environment would be so amazing to see!
What is your favorite thing to do in the wonderful city of Little Rock? My favorite thing to do in Little Rock is go for walks with my dog and husband. We love hiking and seeing the vistas around Arkansas but there’s also a lot of cool trails in town like the Rock Creek Trail and Two Rivers.
What is your biggest pet peeve? My biggest pet peeve is when people litter in parks and on trails. It makes me angry to see when people can’t pick up after themselves to keep parks and trails nice for everyone and the natural wildlife that live there.