A passion for bettering the world through science - combined with a genuine concern for those around her - has left friends and professors of Alison Michener with an abundance of wonderful memories.
Michener, who was born in Colorado but attended high school in California, where her parents reside, died March 31 while rafting in Peru. She had been vacationing with a close friend, Hae-In Kim '06.
Shirin Shakir, a student at Harvard Law School, also died in the rafting accident.
Michener had previously considered attending graduate school to study biology, a desire to "work with people" had recently inspired her to consider medical school, according to her thesis adviser, Assistant Professor of Biology Jennifer Hughes.
Michener's scientific curiosity translated into a consistently impressive classroom performance, Kristi Wharton, an associate professor of medical science who worked closely with Michener, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "Alison was a very bright and talented young woman who always had a smile on her face," she wrote. "She was inquisitive and asked excellent questions in class. I'll never forget how poised she was when she made an oral presentation for class."
Michener demonstrated the same intelligence and diligent work ethic when pursuing other academic disciplines. Associate Professor of English Jim Egan, who taught Michener this semester, said he was "blown away" by the "extraordinary" independent project she was working on.
Egan said he got to know her beyond the classroom through conversations the two had. He also noted her great warmth and generosity, very genuine nature toward everyone she met and her great sense of humor.
But above all, Michener was enamored of science and the possibilities it held for improving lives. A student leader in Women in Science and Engineering, she was researching bacteria in the coastal waters of Rhode Island for her senior thesis, developing new culture and genetic analysis techniques in the process. She hoped her research would lead to a greater understanding of bacteria populations and their relationships in marine waters.
Hughes remembered Michener as "extremely bright and very hardworking, (although she) also had a really easygoing attitude." Michener was dedicated to her work in the lab and put in many extra hours, Hughes said, adding that her co-workers in the lab always enjoyed her company.
Combining her love for science with her generous nature, Michener participated in the Providence Science Outreach Program through the Swearer Center for Public Service, conducting weekly hands-on science experiments with Providence fifth-graders. Her friend Linnea Sanderson '06 said Michener was always "very giving and loved the kids" she worked with in the program. She "loved sharing things she was excited about - one of them was science," Sanderson said.
Sanderson met Michener during their first year at Brown, when they went on a geology camping trip together, and she had only fond memories of her friend. "I never remember her saying anything negative," she said. Michener cared deeply about her friends, Sanderson continued, recalling her habit of inquiring about their lives with genuine interest whenever she saw them. Sanderson referred to Michener as one of the most giving people she encountered at Brown.
Michener is also remembered for her sense of adventure, which revealed itself through her passion for traveling off the beaten path. Wharton described the senior's "adventurous and upbeat nature."
Michener spent a semester abroad in Australia last year and wrote home to friends about her time there, which included traveling in the Western outback and rock climbing 10 meters above the ground. In these messages, Michener's adventurousness was evident, as was her and love of science, attested to by her awe-struck descriptions of the natural and scientific beauty of the country. "Along the way we stopped to see some stromatolites, rocky stumps of minerals produced by the oldest lifeforms on earth," she wrote. "Scientists believe these cyanobacteria are 3.5 billion years old! Next stop: huge sand dunes. We climbed up them, raced down them, and had heaps of fun."
