Jordan Lewis has been fortunate enough to intern in Indiana this summer at Notre Dame University where he is conducting research within his major, biology.

Since starting college at Winthrop in the Fall 2013, he has been on the move. He continues to strive for excellence in various entities, such as within his major, leadership organizations on campus and community service within his fraternity.

Take a look at his Q/A below:

Name: Jordan Lewis

Major or Majors and or minor/concentration: Biology and Environmental Science

Year in college at Winthrop: Rising Senior

Shakora Bamberg: Tell me about your role at Winthrop this includes any leadership awards, honors recognition, positions you may have or recently have had within your major or on campus.

Jordan Lewis: I act as the president of the Winthrop Ambassadors program and hold a seat as one of the two student body representatives on the student allocations committee. I am also a member of the Winthrop Honors College, and this upcoming Fall I will be in my second year teaching the ACAD 101 course as a peer mentor. This past Spring I was fortunate enough to be the student body representative on Dr. Mahony’s board to find a new athletic director and I crossed into the elite Xi Phi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.

SB: What experience have you been able to gain thus far during your summer internship at Notre Dame?

JL: I have been able to gain a lot of insight into my sub-field in biology and have gained a lot of experience being able to conduct research at one of the top research universities in the world. Notre Dame is a top notch university with virtually unlimited resources and world class professors.

SB: What department or team of people/students are you working with at Notre Dame?

JL: I am working in Dr. Hope Hollocher’s Population Genetics Lab with Justin Wilcox (5th year PhD candidate), Chissa Rivaldi (2nd year PhD candidate), and Hector Loyola (research student from Puerto Rico).

SB: Do you mind sharing how you were able to receive this opportunity to intern here?

JL: The Notre Dame Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), is a program built to recruit high achieving minority students to attend Notre Dame for graduate studies in research. I was recommended by Dr. Cliff Harris of the Chemistry Department. Dr. Harris and I have built a close relationship in my years at Winthrop, and he served as a recommendation writer for the program. He earned his PhD at Notre Dame, and he was able to vouch for my credentials and put me on Notre Dame’s radar. They encouraged me to apply for the program and fortunately I was accepted.

SB: When did your internship begin and how long will it be for the summer?

JL: My internship began on May 31 and I flew in to South Bend, Indiana on May 30. The program will last 10 weeks, and I will be flying back to South Carolina on August 6.

SB: Have you been able to meet new students, and if so what states and cities are they from?

JL: I have met students from all over the United States in my time here. The students in my program hail from California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Puerto Rico. We have shared a wealth of experiences, as we all go to different types of Universities. Winthrop is the smallest of all of our schools, being about half the population of Notre Dame, but there are students here who attend universities with over 45,000 students.

SB: What is your overall goal once you have completed this internship?

JL: In the fall, I will be finishing an article for publication in a scientific journal and taking the GRE. I also will be applying for PhD programs at multiple schools across the nation and presenting at a conference at Emory University in Atlanta.

SB: What is your main career goal and after the internship how do you plan on achieving it?

JL: My career goal is to earn my PhD in Biology and go into either a professorship at a major university or go into research for the Centers for Disease Control. My end goal is to one day be the president of a University.

SB: What PHD programs are you interested in or abroad opportunities within your field?

JL: I plan on applying to around 10 PhD programs in the fall, but so far there seems to be a top tier. Those schools are Notre Dame, University of California Berkeley, Emory, and Colorado State. But as I do more research those may change.

SB: It seems like from the time you entered Winthrop campus to now you have been able to do some cool things. How will you maximize your final year at Winthrop?

JL: I want to finish out strong academically, and really help my fraternity establish philanthropy and programs on campus. The ambassadors program is also very near to my heart, and I want to make sure we are in a good place at the end of this year. I really want to continue to serve as a mentor for younger students at Winthrop, and most of all I want to enjoy myself and the things I have accomplished thus far in school.

SB: Are you ready to leave Winthrop, or do you wish time could slow down a little bit?

JL: It kind of goes both ways. I love Winthrop and I will miss the school a lot. The relationships I’ve built and the friends I have made have changed my life. But, on the flip side, I am ready to see what is waiting for me in the next phase of my life. These years have definitely flown by though.

SB: Have you met any cool people and professors at Notre Dame?

JL: There are some cool professors here and they are some of the leaders in their respective fields. It's just cool!

SB: Can you describe the scenery of this school and discuss its academia ?

JL: Notre Dame has the third largest endowment in the United States, and you can really tell walking around. All the buildings are built with the same bricks so it’s hard to tell the difference between buildings that were here in 1900 and those built in 2010. Academically it’s been a little different to hear the accomplishments of some of the kids in high school and those going to graduate school. In my short time here, I actually have been able to meet multiple Fulbright Scholars, and made friends with a guy going to Oxford for his masters. The history of the campus is also very cool, there is a lot of pedigree here in athletics and academics.

Keep Lewis on your radar; he is definitely headed for continued success within science and leadership.