Alexandra (Alex) Svetlik will graduate with her PhD in toxicology from Texas A&M in December, well on her way to a brilliant career. However, just a few years ago, the Georgetown, Texas native had no idea what her future held.
Svetlik arrived at King University in 2017 to play soccer but was still trying to determine what she wanted to do after graduation when fate intervened. She was in the King research lab when Dr. Kelly Vaughn asked if she would be interested in staying at school for the summer of 2019 to work in the lab.
“I learned all about the C. elegans, lab techniques, and what goes into lab research,” said Svetlik. “This was the beginning of my toxicology interest. I really liked working in the research lab so much that I continued to work with Dr. Vaughan until I left for graduate school in August of 2021. So, I kind of just fell into the toxicology field and have really enjoyed it since.”
The King alum, who graduated with a BS in biology, with a concentration in cell and molecular biology and a minor in chemistry, says her time at King helped her decide to attend Texas A&M because of her time in the King biology department.
“Being at King also helped in a sense that I think I was ready to be closer to home,” said the 26-year-old. “Being an only child and being away from home for four years, I wanted to be closer to my parents and family, and with Texas A&M being a big D1 school, it seemed right.”
Svetlik readily admits, however, that it was Dr. Vaughn, along with Dr. Han Ong and the entire biology department, who sparked her interest in toxicology and helped her gain admission to graduate school.
“I have to give so much credit to Dr. Vaughn,” she said. “Without her as a mentor, I do not think I would have known much about toxicology or what it’s all about. I didn’t even know King had a research lab until she mentioned it to me. She guided and helped me through so much and made me realize my true research potential, and she still does to this day.”
Vaughn, who completed her doctorate at Texas A&M and currently has several students attending the school, says she worked with Svetlik during advisory meetings until her senior year, trying to help her decide which path to pursue.
“At almost every meeting, she would come in with a different idea of what she might want to do next,” she said. “We reworked her class schedule, and she took classes to help her explore different options. After she had the opportunity to join my Toxicology research lab and participate in the Society of Toxicology meetings, she found her path forward and set her sights on pursuing a doctorate in toxicology – neither of which she had considered possibilities before.”
Vaughn says that while Svetlik excelled on the soccer field and held her own in academics, the research experience helped her develop self-confidence that she hadn’t shown in the classroom before.
“She presented her work as a senior to a panel of faculty, earning honors in independent study in Biology, something she would have been terrified to do even the semester before,” Vaughn said.
The two keep in touch, and Vaughn says she has been privileged to watch her former student thrive and develop through her doctoral studies.
“I am now teaching a toxicology course and recently asked if she would join virtually as a guest lecturer,” she said. “Gone is the undergraduate student who was worried about presenting in front of a class of peers, replaced by a scientist who jumped at the chance to share her work with others and, in the process, provide some words of guidance to those who might also be struggling in finding their path forward.”
Svetlik says Dr. Ong also helped her a great deal over her last two years at King.
“He gave me tons of graduate school advice and wrote me letters of recommendation,” she said. “Really, the whole biology department helped me so much. All the professors are really engaged with their students and really care about them. It was nice to be a person and not just a number to them.”
As she prepares to graduate from A&M, Svetlik says she has many fond memories of her years at King University.
“There are so many,” she said. “I think one that stands out to me is that in December of 2018, there was a huge snowstorm. I was supposed to leave and fly home to Texas, but I couldn’t get to the airport because of all the ice and snow, so I changed my flight to the next day.
“That day, four of my friends and I built a big snowman by the pond, slid down the big hill, watched movies, and drank hot chocolate. That memory, to this day, makes me realize that I have made great friends at King that I still have to this day. It’s a great memory I have with them and a memory of so much snow because, at the time, that was the most snow I had ever seen, and the campus was so beautifully covered in it.”
In her final year at Texas A&M, Svetlik says she wants to enter industry, consulting, or government work.
“I do hope to graduate in December 2025; that is the plan,” she said. “I am still unsure what I hope to do after I graduate, but I plan to stay in Texas, go back to the Appalachian mountains, or go to Research Park in North Carolina. I love and miss the mountains!”