Dr. Julia Schmitz has been a biology professor at Piedmont for about 13 years and has been a woman in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) her entire life. Her love of science started when she was very young when she became interested in learning about different types of diseases.
When asked about her love for science Schmitz stated, “I think I’ve always had a passion for science… [my parents] always encouraged me to continue, so I did.” This passion led Schmitz to eventually get a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at Sweet Briar College – a private women’s liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Virginia. From there she got her doctorate in microbiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Schmitz did not always see herself becoming a teacher. When she was in college Schmitz thought she might work in studying different diseases, like the Ebola virus, but after talking to professors at Sweet Briar, she ended up wanting to become a professor.
“I went to a small undergrad institution where I really got to know my professors and I remember when I got accepted to graduate school, my research professor was super excited,” said Schmitz. “I was like ‘I want to have that excitement.’”
Attending a private university with small class sizes herself, Schmitz knew that was what she was looking for when thinking about teaching. “I knew that if I did go into teaching I wanted it to be at a smaller school – I wanted to know my students,” Schmitz said.
Schmitz is not only the biology professor at Piedmont, she is also the director of the symposium, where Piedmont students can showcase their research to their peers, professors and other audience members. Piedmont’s symposium started in 2019 at the Athens campus and showcased nine posters and eight oral presentations made by more than 30 different Piedmont students. At this year’s symposium, there will be over 300 students presenting their hard work – this year it will be on April 11th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
