Rieser Wells
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Major: Biochemistry
Hometown: Newburgh, Indiana
Rieser Wells knew as soon as he discovered Butler University, it was the place for him. “I wanted a small school with a big campus feel,” he says. And being only five miles from downtown Indianapolis was also a perk. “I knew, being close to Indy, that I’d always have something to do.”
It also helped that Butler had his major of choice: Biochemistry. Wells knew that after graduating from Butler, he was interested in attending either graduate school or dental school, and after doing some research, he found that Biochemistry most directly paralleled the information and courses that he would need for an advanced degree.
Not only that, but as a Biochemistry major, Wells has access to a number of undergraduate research opportunities. In fact, he’s participating in two research projects concurrently—one with a Biology professor and one with a Chemistry professor.
And it’s that personalized attention that makes all the difference.
Although Wells knew that Butler’s class sizes were small (the student to faculty ratio is only 12:1!), he still says that he was surprised with the close relationships that he has formed with many of his professors.
“I learned really quickly that I’m not just a number,” he says. “I can go to them anytime. I even have a couple of their phone numbers if I’m ever in a big jam and need some help. They’re always there and I can always rely on them if I need help.”
Not only are they there to help academically, but they’re also there to ensure that students are taken care of on a personal level.
“My Organic Chemistry professor, Dr. Wilson, invites all of her students to come to her house for a big barbeque that she cooks herself,” says Wells. “There are forty or fifty kids who show up at her house and she feeds us all and even has to-go containers so we can take food back to our other friends. It’s really unreal that a professor would do that for her students.”
It’s that level of personalized attention from his professors that Wells knows he just wouldn’t get anywhere else but Butler.