Samantha Hall grew up an only child in Seneca, S.C. Seneca, 50 miles from Wofford in the northwest corner of the state, is a small town of less than 10,000 people. It’s where SC Senator Lindsay Graham lives, though, and it’s also where former vice presidential nominee John Edwards was born.
When Hall graduated from Seneca High School she wanted a college where she could pursue her greatest interest, biology. She visited Wofford College twice and says she chose to attend because of the school’s reputation in biology but also because “I felt like I could find a home here.”
In four years, she has achieved that. Hall has been involved with a sorority, with Beta Beta Beta (academic fraternity), the Wofford Activities Council, the Campus Union and was also chair of the Campus Relations Committee.
As if that weren’t enough, she made the newspaper recently thanks to her summer research project, part of Charles Kay’s program. Hall, who has always been fascinated by insects, used Google Earth to find Velvet Ant mounds in the upstate. She then collected them and studied their stridulation, which they use to communicate with each other under times of stress.
“I’ve always thought insects were interesting as far as social behaviors and different ways they use to survive their environment,” says Hall. “I would like to do research later during grad school and after grad school, so my involvement in this program was definitely an advantage as far as applications for grad school while also giving myself a lot of experience.
“I’ve gotten experience working with other professors and students from other colleges because we’ve done a lot of collaboration on our project this summer. I’ve gotten to know professors and I think that’s a great thing seeing as how I still have a year left.”