Annual science assembly brings KO community together

On Monday, April 29, biochemist Rebecca Matoska ’07 came to KO as a part of the annual Stroud Science Symposium to deliver a speech on her work in pharmaceuticals. 

            A KO graduate, Ms. Matoska continued a trend of alumni returning to campus to speak in this assembly.

Science Department Chair Fritz Goodman, who organized the event in coordination with the Stroud family, explained the process of finding Ms. Matoska. “I asked Rebecca to be a resource for the biomedical class that we started this year, known as Introduction to Biomedical Studies,” Mr. Goodman said. “As it became time to choose a speaker the decision became clear, I was so impressed with her

Ms. Matoska explained that her work as a scientist is very different from the classroom science class experience and attributed a large part of her success to her KO education. She also stated that her experiences in classes at KO helped develop her interest in the field of science. This message ties directly into what Mr. Goodman was hoping to achieve by inviting her to speak at the assembly. “We hope their interest is stimulated in a way that makes them think about doing science themselves someday,” Mr. Goodman said. 

At the heart of her presentation, Ms. Matoska dove into detail about her work in proteomics (the study of proteins) and her regular use of a tool called a mass spectrometer. She used her experiences of learning how to use the mass spec and other similarly complicated scientific tools to instill the point that if you had the opportunity to learn something new, you should take it. 

Ms. Matoska’s presentation revolved around these types of lessons, as she explained her experiences as a scientist and what she took out of them. She also explained how science affects her view of perseverance. “Science is full of mistakes, full of things that didn’t work out,” she said. Furthermore, she explained that using the work of others before you and understanding where they went wrong is helpful in the field of science. 

These values apply to all students, and Mr. Goodman hopes students are further connecting her presentation to the different things they are learning in their science classes at KO, like atomic mass or the format in which they write their labs.

As Ms. Matoska concluded her presentation, she explained the commonalities she sees in successful scientists. “It’s those people who are always ready to ask questions,” she said. “What comes next? What’s the new challenge? What’s the next question? How can I better meet what that next step is going to be?” 

After finishing her speech, Ms. Matoska took a few questions from the engaged audience ranging anywhere from her stance on vaccines to the impact biological samples have had on her life. After being asked how frequently she had to communicate with non-scientists at her pharmaceutical company, she went into detail about the importance of communication and presentation skills in the field of science, because it is important to be able to help others understand the significance of a professional scientist’s research. 

When she answered her final question, Ms. Matoska received a resounding round of applause from the crowd, leaving Mr. Goodman along with the rest of KO thoroughly impressed. Mr. Goodman hopes that this caused the crowd to consider themselves in a similar position years down the line. “Maybe somebody in the audience wants to come back someday to be the symposium speaker,” Mr. Goodman said.