In Her Element

This story appears in the spring 2015 issue of 360: The Magazine of San Diego State University.

Anna Cholewczynski’s grandfather was a scientist. Her father is an electrical engineer.  Her brother is an aerospace engineer—an actual rocket scientist—and her sister, whom she calls “a genius,” is working on a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that Cholewczynski (pronounced hall-of-chinski) realized her family was a bit … different.

“At the dinner table we’d talk about science,” she said. “I remember when I finally took calculus I was like, ‘I know what derivatives and integrals are! Now I can talk about this at dinner with all of them!’ It’s just a completely different world I grew up in. So science is always a cool thing to me.”

The junior chemistry major and member of the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society is finishing her third semester as part of the research team in B. Mikael Bergdahl’s organic chemistry lab.

But if you’re thinking Cholewczynski is a science nerd, you would be wrong. When she’s not in class or working in the lab, she is on the field slamming into attackers as a defender on the Aztec lacrosse team. She has both athletic and academic scholarships.

The former three-sport high school athlete from Maryland was recruited by Coach Kylee White to play midfield but was quickly reassigned to play defense because of her speed and physical style. White describes her as “very aggressive, tough and determined.”

“It’s fun to be physical,” Cholewczynski said. “I get to be way more physical on defense.”

Cholewczynski uses color-coded charts to manage her student-athlete life of classes, assignments, labs, practices, workouts and games. During the school year her schedule is hectic, so she can afford only four lab hours per week.

But last summer, she received a research grant to work full-time in Bergdahl’s lab, eight hours a day, five days a week. She was in heaven. For the first time, she could be part of the research process from start to finish.

Since being accepted into the lab as a sophomore — something Bergdahl said is very unusual — Cholewczynski has been involved in research toward finding a less harsh vaccine for Hepatitis C. She’s currently working with lagunamides, molecules extracted from an Asian plant that could help fight leukemia, colon cancer and malaria.

When Cholewczynski graduates in spring 2016, her lacrosse days will be over but her career in research will begin. She’s using the Aztec Mentor Program to help find a career direction. Bergdahl is confident she’ll do well.

“She is very driven and goal-oriented as to what she wants to do,” he said. “She loves organic chemistry.”

White, too, is impressed with Cholewczynski’s research credentials. Last spring, the lacrosse team attended
a symposium in which she gave a presentation about her research on the Hepatitis C vaccine. Cholewczynski was glad to have their support and to share what she does.

“It’s just amazing the things she’s learning. She gets very excited talking us through the things she’s studying,” said White. “It’s fun to think about where she’s going to go.”