La Bella's slogan "Live, Look, Feel Beautiful" is more to us than just a catch phrase-- it is a vision set forth by our founder/owner, Jessie, because she knew that she wanted our salon to represent more than just helping people with their looks (although we are pretty good at it!). She wanted La Bella Hair Studio to encompass and embrace beauty in all aspects of life, which is something we strive for every day. It is important to embrace the beauty within yourself and the community in which you live.This year on our blog we're featuring a series called "La Bella Vita," meaning "The Beautiful Life." We have made it our mission to find twelve special people within our community, who have somehow impacted the lives around them, to be featured every month.
This month we all know that everyone who is in school is back in school- so I thought how more appropriate than to feature a professor from a very well renowned university right here in Richmond? I introduce to you Amy Treonis, a Chicago native who found her way to Richmond and is now a professor and research scientist at the University of Richmond. She was kind enough to agree to being our featured person and let me give her a fabulous makeover!
Introducing Amy!
Before
Voila!
After the makeover I had an interview with Amy about her life as a female scientist/professor, check it out!
Q: Where are you from? What brought you to Richmond?
A: I am from Forest Park, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago. I came to Richmond to work at the University of Richmond. That said, I love history and I was eager to move here. I can't think of too many places where you can find as much history as you can in Richmond and the state of Virginia. I really enjoy traveling around the state and exploring.
Q: How long have you been working at U of R? What do you teach?
A: I have been working at U of R since 2005. I teach a crazy mix of classes, including "Microbiology", "Astrobiology", "Microbial Ecology", and "Eating Locally, Thinking Globally".
Q: How did you know you wanted to become a professor?
I knew I wanted to be a professor when I went to college. I loved being part of a university community, and I got into biology and biological research. It's a long journey to become a professor (4 years undergrad + 6 years of graduate school), and I feel really fortunate to have landed at U of R, which is an amazing university.
Q: I know you work in research, what exactly are you researching and what does it entail?
A: I am a soil ecologist, and I study the microscopic organisms that live in soils. Soils are some of the most biologically diverse systems on Earth, and the things that live in soil do a lot of things for us, like growing our food, cleaning air and water of pollutants, and influencing our global climate.
Most of my experiments these days are conducted in the Mojave Desert, in Death Valley National Park, where my students and are studying a group of microscopic worms called nematodes. We're trying to understand how the extreme temperatures in Death Valley affect nematode communities. It's always fun to go on research expeditions to the desert and camp and explore while collecting soils. Most of the hard work of collecting data from the soils happens in the lab at UR though, where my students and I use microscopes and molecular biology to study the nematodes.
Q: What is you favorite part of your job?
A: I think the best part is that my job is so varied. In a single day, I might go from teaching a class, to working on the microscope in my lab, to analyzing data on the computer, to discussing curriculum at a faculty meeting, to planning a field trip. So, I'm always facing different intellectual challenges, which keeps things interesting. I also really enjoy teaching and helping students learn, which is so empowering for them. I feel like I am making a difference.
Q: Are there any cool perks and/or disadvantages for being a female scientist/researcher?
A: I think that I belong to a generation of scientists that has benefited from increasing awareness of the challenges that women have faced in science, which include everything from outright discrimination, to sexual harassment, to a lack of maternity leave policies. I'm lucky to have had experienced and helpful mentorship throughout my career. Things are better today than they ever have been for women in science (although there are still things we need to work on). I'm happy to say that my gender isn't something I think about too much. A perk of being a female scientist might be having a keen awareness of how important role models and mentorship are to students from all genders, races, and backgrounds.
Q: If you could teach/research in another field of science, what would it be and why?
A: I would definitely study Physics, which might sound crazy, but I realize more all the time how much more I could understand about the universe if I only knew more Physics.
If there is anything else you would like to add, feel free!! I want you to be a organic as possible
A: I'm definitely somewhat of an egghead, and I love my work, but I am also into binge-watching Scandal, listening to dubstep, and spinning.
From all of us at La Bella- a special thank you to Amy for allowing us to have you as our featured person for La Bella Vita!! We hope you are enjoying your fabulous new look!!
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