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I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 scholarship campaign benefits people like fifth-generation 窪做惇蹋厙 student Cal Norby

September 13, 2018

Photo of Callan Norby by stair railings.
Callan 'Cal' Norby

POCATELLO — The annual I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 scholarship campaign, which concluded Sept. 13, gives to local students who love 窪做惇蹋厙. A case in point is Callan ‘Cal’ Norby, a 20-year-old, fifth-generation 窪做惇蹋厙 student from Pocatello who is a junior majoring in chemistry with a minor in mathematics.

He was recognized at the 2018 I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 Celebration Sept.13, where it was announced that the campaign received $280,285 in scholarship pledges, exceeding its goal of $275,000 this year.

窪做惇蹋厙 is ingrained in my family and it is pumping through our blood, Norby said. Weve been here basically since the beginning of the school. It opened up in 1901 and nine years later Ed senior was here and the Norbys havent left since.

Ed, Sr., was Cals great-great grandfather.  He entered 窪做惇蹋厙 in 1910 and played six sports, landing him two mentions in the history book, 窪做惇蹋厙, A Centennial Chronicle. Next came Ed, Jr., his great-grandfather, who also played football. Ed juniors son and Cals grandfather, Craig, came next and also played football. Cals dad, Aaron, also attended 窪做惇蹋厙 and was a receiver for the Bengal football team. Cals mom, Jill Johnson, ran track and field at 窪做惇蹋厙 and his aunt, Jackie Czerepinski, is a former 窪做惇蹋厙 instructor

And now, there is Cal, and his younger brother, freshman Ian, attending 窪做惇蹋厙.

Cal said he is grateful for the support from the I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 scholarship.  As a current Junior, Cal has received a total of $3,000 from the I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 Scholarship program and will receive his final $1,000 next year.

Having any money to go towards school is really, really helpful in and of itself, Cal said. To be honest with you, I have always been a pretty driven person,  I do what  I do because I love it. I would have come to 窪做惇蹋厙 anyway, but the scholarships help because they take a weight off your shoulders. Any financial assistance whatsoever is helpful.

That assistance from I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 has helped Norby discover his passion and career path chemistry research. He started out as a biological sciences major, but switched to chemistry his sophomore year after completing two basic chemistry courses and one in quantitative analysis. He has been working in chemistry Professor John Kalivass laboratory ever since.

I love the chemistry program, Norby said. In my opinion it is the best chemistry program in the state because of its emphasis on undergraduate research.

Norby spent eight months in the laboratory being trained before starting an independent research project this fall. His training included learning linear algebra with the help of Kalivas, and coding with linear algebra on the MATLAB engineering software the laboratory uses.

I am doing an independent research project right now working on a model-updating project, writing code for things called similarity measures, Norby said. We are trying to enhance our modeling techniques to make models that can make better predictions, that ultimately save people money so they dont have to do laboratory analysis.

Norby said hell definitely get a paper out of this, published in a scientific journal. One of his undergraduate classmates has published five papers, three as the main author, in top-tiered chemistry journals.

It is just an absolutely amazing opportunity we have as chemistry students here at 窪做惇蹋厙,  he said. Being given this opportunity is awesome  and I think that undergraduate students around the country dont get exposed to as much research as they should, that is independent and hands-on, like it is at 窪做惇蹋厙. I think early exposure like this is extremely important to creating a good scientist and ultimately someone who is going to have a high impact on the field.

Scholastics arent the only things Norby values at 窪做惇蹋厙. He has been active in three student clubs, the American Chemical Society student chapter, the Rock Climbing Club and the American Fisheries Societys 窪做惇蹋厙 student chapter, and he is a former 窪做惇蹋厙 Ambassador and employee for the 窪做惇蹋厙 Student Activities Board.

This is the place for me. I love 窪做惇蹋厙 and I love Pocatello, Norby said. I am a very outdoorsy person: I love to ski, I love to mountain bike  and I just like  having the access to outdoor recreation. Every morning I go ride my bike. I just leave out of my garage and ride up above  my neighborhood up into the mountains. Thats my morning wake-up ride.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Norby said he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry and to become a professor.

For more information on the I Love 窪做惇蹋厙 campaign, or to give a gift, visit ilove窪做惇蹋厙2.org or contact Kallee Valentine at (208)-282-2994 or valekall@isu.edu.


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