Q&A with Dr. Chrissy McAllister, Biology Professor and Plant Geneticist
Dr. Chrissy McAllister (C’93) joined the Biology and Natural Resources Department in 1999. A big proponent of Principia study abroad programs, she has led trips to New Zealand, Dominica, and Yellowstone National Park.
Q. What research are you working on right now?
A. I’m working on a three-year National Science Foundation grant with Dr. Toby Kellogg at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis. We are looking at the evolutionary history of a group of grasses that include some of the most ecologically and economically important grasses in the world (including several prairie grasses, as well as corn, sorghum, sugar cane, and several grasses used for biofuel production). I’m involving my undergraduates in this project through the College’s Summer Research Assistantship program, which supports students staying on campus during the summer to work on research with Principia faculty members. This past summer, my students and I developed methodology for collecting digital imagery and measurements of the seed morphology of over 70 species of grasses.
Q. What led you to teaching?
A. I had a botany teaching assistantship in graduate school. At first, I was terrified, but as I started working with students, I discovered I really loved teaching.
Actually, when I was in high school, I took some sort of aptitude test that was supposed to tell you what sort of job would be a good fit for you in the future. My test results said that I should be either a farmer or a college professor. I recall laughing about the results because they both seemed so far removed from what I thought I wanted to do. But here I am—a college professor who teaches about plants!
Q. What do you love about teaching?
A. It’s fabulous to watch students discover that they love something they didn’t realize they loved. For example, I get to guide students through explorations of plant structure and function, including the nitty-gritty biochemistry of photosynthesis and other chemical reactions. It is so fun watching the “light bulb moments” happen. We joke a lot in my classroom about how it’s completely OK to embrace the geek in yourself and to love challenging academic material. Science can be really hard, really fun, and really amazing all at the same time.
“. . . it’s completely OK to embrace the geek in yourself and to love challenging academic material.”
Q. Can you share a character education moment you’ve had at Principia that particularly stands out to you?
A. Students at Principia are generally very open to the type of growth that results from character education moments, even when they know that growth will be difficult or “messy.” For example, on one of the New Zealand abroad programs I led, a student began having interpersonal difficulties with others in the group. Students were required to keep a journal focused primarily on academic topics. However, one of the times I reviewed this student’s journal, I found that she had saved several blank pages in the middle of the journal with a note indicating that, while she didn’t yet know what lessons she was meant to learn, she wanted to save pages in her journal to document them when the growth became clear to her.
Sure enough, several weeks later, the student joyfully filled those pages with evidence of huge progress she had made both within herself and within the group. I loved the fact that this student—in the midst of a difficult situation (and far from home and family!)—acknowledged in advance that a) good was going to happen and b) she was prepared to be grateful for it.
Q. What work would you pursue if you weren’t a professor?
A. Wow, tough question, because I love my job! I guess I would get more involved in research somehow. There’s a whole lot of really exciting plant research going on in St. Louis that I’d love to get more involved in.
Q. What would people be surprised to learn about you?
A. A “fun fact” about me is that I grew up in the Air Force, and my family moved every two years. I’ve lived all over the U.S., as well as the Azores Islands (where I was born) and Germany. In fact, Principia now feels like home to me because I’ve lived and worked here longer than anywhere I lived while I was growing up!
Q. If you had a day off and weren’t allowed to use it to catch up on work, what would you do?
A. I’d love to plan a fun family hiking day with my husband and daughter. I hear there are scorpions and tarantulas in the glades in the Ozarks—we would love to see them!
Q. If you could give students only one piece of advice, what would it be?
A. Keep a VERY open mind about where you’ll go and what you’ll do in the future. You have no idea what sorts of opportunities may present themselves to you. Try not to shut down those opportunities just because they don’t look like what you imagined for your life after college. Listen humbly and deeply, and follow the direction you receive as a result of this prayer—even if it’s not what you’d planned for yourself. The perfect networking opportunity or the perfect unexpected job may be hiding within a situation that doesn’t look perfect to you on the surface.
This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Winter 2016 edition of the Principia Purpose.