Bailey Gomes of Swartz Creek, Mich., will receive an Outstanding Graduating Senior Award from the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees. Gomes graduates May 6 with a bachelor's degree in forensic biochemistry and a minor in human biology. She has been a member of NMU's Honors Program and served as editor-in-chief of the honor student journal, Conspectus Borealis.
Gomes decided to come to Northern in 2019 because of the Forensic Research Outdoor Station (FROST), the first cold weather taphonomic research center that studies human decomposition. However, she was fully convinced to pursue her major when her high school mentor, Jim Fuller, taught an introduction to law class.
“In that class, we had a unit on forensic science, and he saw the passion that I had for the subject,” Gomes said. “He really encouraged me to pursue that and he's actually the person who told me about NMU and the FROST facility. It's really because of him that I'm here.”
She also said that she wanted to go to Northern specifically because of its forensic biochemistry program, as well as the unique learning and research opportunities that it offers.
“I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Freshman Fellowship, so I was able to do research during my first year at NMU and have been doing research for four years now,” Gomes said. “It's been an incredible learning experience where I've been able to apply techniques and try out experiments that you normally only get to do in upper-level courses.”
One of the people at NMU whom Gomes especially looked up to was Associate Professor Josh Sharp of the Biology department. She said he has been a wonderfully supportive person since she started doing research in his lab freshman year. He is also one of the reasons she is staying at NMU after graduation to pursue a master's degree in biology.
Outside of her studies, Gomes was an active member of several on-campus organizations. She was selecged for the Student Leader Fellowship Program her sophomore year, then worked with the Center for Student Enrichment as a leadership programs coordinator. She was co-president of Platform Personalities and involved in Superior Edge and hip-hop dance crew.
“My experience at NMU has been very unique," she said. "Once I came up here, I just immediately fell in love. I know everybody says that, but once you're here you're like, ‘Wow, this really is the place.' Everybody I've met with was just so kind and encouraging, and I feel like I've had so many opportunities here that I would never get anywhere else. I've made so many deep personal connections with faculty, staff, students; everybody."
Gomes said she hopes to go to medical school once she completes her master's degree in biology.
NMU's commencement will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Superior Dome. It will be live streamed at nmu.edu/commencement and broadcast on WNMU-TV13.