Growing up in Waco, John Seaman has been around Baylor his whole life. So when it came time to choose a graduate program, the choice seemed natural. "Baylor has always been where I wanted to go," he says.

After receiving a dual undergraduate degree at Baylor in biology and psychology, he decided to lengthen his tenure as a Bear and enrolled as a graduate student in the statistics PhD program.

The intimate atmosphere of the faculty and students is one of the reasons that John came back. "In this program, and in the graduate school as a whole, you are not just a name on a roll sheet. The professors actively seek to learn about you and your interests to better tailor your graduate work into something that drives you to learn." He adds, "The environment is not one of competition with your fellow students. Your classmates are eager to help you when they can."

With a wide range of research interests, John has been involved in a variety of exciting projects, from a consulting project with a natural gas and oil company, to work on several statistical papers separate from his dissertation. He also hopes to work at the local V.A. hospital during his last year, addressing neuroscience problems in veterans.

While one may wonder whether he has any time to eat or sleep with his heavy involvement, John says it is the dedicated faculty that makes it all possible. "The professors have an open door policy. We are encouraged to drop by and ask questions whenever they are around," he says. "We are encouraged to begin writing scholarly papers early on. The professors provide assistance on writing these papers."

John says that after graduation, he hopes to continue to pursue his love of research, ideally on a team at a research hospital with university ties. "I would like to teach courses as well as assist in the research of my team," he says, "At some point, I would also like to direct new PhD students in their dissertations."