A biophysics graduate student, classically trained pianist and a…homemade ice cream maker? Quentin Jamieson, president of Graduate Student Senate, has a variety of interests outside the classroom, from photography and web design to cooking and ice cream making. He’s also an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hiking, biking, Frisbee, camping and snowshoeing, and a strong LGBT rights advocate. Oh, and did we mention he’s GSS president and a graduate student studying “the biophysics of voltage-dependent potassium channel inactivation”?
The Daily caught up with Jamieson for a quick Q&A somewhere among his meetings, classes and discoveries. (During his undergrad years at New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, he “accidentally” discovered some near-earth asteroids—but don’t worry, they’re “not predicted to collide with Earth any time soon.”)
Want to know more about him? So did we.
1. What’s on your iPod?
Some favorites: Air, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Rachmaninoff, As Tall As Lions, Jimmy Eat World, Barenaked Ladies, Simon & Garfunkel, Imogen Heap, Nine Inch Nails, Incubus, Blue October, Hoobastank, Iron & Wine, Orbital and, of course, awesome dance music.
2. What’s your favorite spot in Cleveland and why?
The Cleveland Metroparks. These are some of the most beautiful natural landscapes that you can find in the middle of the city—name another city that has a veritable “Emerald Necklace” interwoven with its suburbs. Otherwise, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is probably my favorite place in Ohio. Awesome biking and hiking! Restaurant-wise, Melt Bar & Grilled or the Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood win hands down—awesome chow and huge draft beer lists!
3. If you could only take three books with you to a deserted island, what would you take?
Desert Solitaire, Walden and some of Robert Frost’s poetry.
4. What one word would you use to describe yourself, and what one word would your friends use to describe you?
Myself: complex; my friends: enthusiastic.
5. What’s your favorite thing about Case Western Reserve University?
I am thrilled that CWRU’s leadership responds to the needs of its student bodies with the alacrity that it does. We are lucky to have deans, vice presidents and a deputy provost, provost, president and trustees who are invested in not only the research enterprise of this university but also the vibrancy of its student life—undergraduate, graduate and professional.
I am also grateful for the open and affirming environment the university has built for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, faculty and staff who are free to be themselves without fear of harassment. The LGBT Center led by Elisabeth Roccoforte (OIDEO) is a symbolic beacon of what our campus has achieved through advancing equality.
Know someone you’d like to see featured in The Daily’s “5 questions with…” segment? Comment here or email case-daily@case.edu.