By: Isabelle Fisher ’23

Columbus native and rising Otterbein senior Amanda Marchi stays rooted in the Shear-McFadden Science Center, where she conducts research in the chemistry lab.

With a major in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry, Marchi even presented her own research at the American Chemical Society Spring 2023 conference in March at Indianapolis, Indiana.

“Right now, I’m doing research under Dr. Robin Grote in the chemistry department,” Marchi said. “I’ve been doing that since last summer and it has continued into spring semester so it’s exciting but also very nerve-wracking.”

When Marchi isn’t buried in research books or going to organic chemistry courses, she finds herself still in the classroom, but teaching others.

“I have been a TA and tutor for pretty much every biology course I’ve ever taken as well as every chemistry course,” Marchi said. “To me, teaching assisting is a prestigious role because it helps reinforce the material you already learned in a past course, so I think that makes for a more competitive edge and you’re also helping instruct other students.”

Aside from helping professors and students with everything science, Marchi takes time often to admire the one place that she can call home.

“I really enjoy it all. I do,” Marchi said. “I love everything about the science center… the biology and chemistry labs are great; all the professors are really great, and we also have state of the art laboratory equipment.”

Prior to attending Otterbein, Marchi took college courses at neighboring universities but felt like there was no real sense of belonging until she found her people and department in Westerville.

“I feel like there are so many ample resources to progress in your discipline,” she said. “Meaning, there’s research opportunities, the professors are extremely helpful to go above and beyond to be extremely interactive and engaging especially in difficult science topics like organic chemistry.”

As an Otterbein student, Marchi has won the Lauren Keister New Testament Award, The Bert and Jane Horn Endowed Student Research Funds in the Sciences, as well as two separate research funds for her current research in organic chemistry.