Fine Dining With Gregor Mendel by Carissa

Fine Dining With Gregor Mendel by Carissa - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

If I could have dinner with any historical figure, I would choose Gregor Mendel. Gregor Mendel made many groundbreaking discoveries in the field of genetics. He is sometimes considered the “Father of Modern Genetics”. Gregor Mendel was born in 1822 and died in early 1884. Mendel conducted experiments on pea plants. He bred specific plants in order to observe specific traits that appeared.
The two main findings Mendel is famous for are the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment. These laws became known as Mendel’s Laws. The law of segregation says that during meiosis, alleles separate. Each allele for a trait is packaged into a separate gamete. The law of independent assortment says that different genes separate into gametes independently. These laws help to explain why there is genetic variation between animals and humans.
Ever since my biology class in 9th grade, the topic of genetics has always fascinated me. Someday I would love to become a licensed genetic counselor. Gregor Mendel would be my top choice to have dinner with because I want him to personally tell me about his experiments. I would ask him questions about his research, such as, how he came up with using pea plants and why he dedicated years of his life to his research. Most importantly I would tell him about my interest in the field of genetics and how he has inspired me to learn more about DNA and genetic variation.