Tammy’s Scholarship Story

Sharing a Love of Learning

Tammy Johnson grew up in Gray, La., and stayed close by for college, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Nicholls State University. Though she doesn’t have family ties to LSU, her experiences visiting campus as a child and while in college were memorable because of the magnetism of the campus and its vibrant research community. 

“I was very intrigued by the community that was here — the students, the faculty and staff, how close everyone was. I was also very intrigued by the research opportunities here, as well, and so all of those just really pushed me even more to want to join the doctoral program here.” 

Tammy, a recipient of the Richard A. Lipsey & Joseph Lipsey Jr. Graduate Student Scholarship Incentive Award, credits scholarship funding with making her LSU journey possible. She shared, “Without scholarship funding, I would not have the opportunity to be here pursuing my PhD degree and to be able to make the impact that I have and continue to meet and collaborate with so many students, faculty, and staff.” 

Tammy is pursuing a PhD in environmental sciences within the College of the Coast & Environment, a continuation of her undergraduate and master’s programs that builds upon her interest in microbial research. She explained, “Microbial research is when you're doing research with different forms of bacteria. For me, my previous research (dealt) with E. coli, trying to see how viruses and nutrient deprivation can affect the growth of bacteria. And so now with my research for my PhD, I'm looking at how different forms of bacteria like Vibrio, for example, can be used, or viruses can be used to help treat bacterial infections in oysters. Microbial research is definitely a melting pot of different subjects … so it is a really good experience.” 

 “Being able to have the opportunity to do research while also teaching students is what actually motivated me to even want to pursue a PhD to begin with, because I want to be a professor now, and I want to be able to do research with students while being able to teach.”

The impact is personal for Tammy, whose motivation for this important work stems from her parents’ experiences fighting health challenges. She shared, “My mom has thyroid cancer, and my dad has kidney disease. And so, seeing them going through their health journeys and health battles, it actually pushed me to even want to start learning about biology to begin with, because I was starting to learn about their conditions and their medical issues. … They are a very big inspiration for why I'm here today.”  

Tammy intends to carry that impact forward with the generations who follow her by pursuing a career in academia. She said, “Being able to have the opportunity to do research while also teaching students is what actually motivated me to even want to pursue a PhD to begin with, because I want to be a professor now, and I want to be able to do research with students while being able to teach.” 

As she moves closer to that goal, Tammy sees the life-changing impact that donor support has had. “I am extremely grateful to the donors for giving me this opportunity,” she said, describing the overall impact of such generosity by saying, “It really makes a difference and a positive impact in our lives, because this funding makes it possible for students like myself to be able to pursue their educational journey and future careers.” 

An avid learner, Tammy shared, “Learning is something that never stops. You're always going to be learning something. And whenever you can see a student, when they actually learn the topic or catch on to what they're learning, it just makes all the difference in the world. I want to be able to do the same for other students like my previous educators did for me.”