Throughout his past four years at Houghton, Andrew Hutton ’18 has learned what it means to be a student leader. Every year, he has learned more about the importance of being involved in the Houghton community, and has discovered what that means for himself.
During his sophomore year, Hutton was involved with Journey’s End Tutoring (JET), an opportunity available to Houghton students who have a desire to teach English to refugees in Buffalo each week. “I was going to Buffalo once a week on Saturday mornings to help teach English to refugees that have maybe been in the states for only three months or so,” Hutton explained. “For a lot of them, they’re still learning English,” Hutton said. “We tried to help them integrate into the culture.”
This past year, Hutton stepped into the vice president position at SGA, where his main role is assisting the president, Emma Steele ’18, and communicating within the SGA council and with other departments in the school. Currently, SGA is planning senior week activities, including Senior SPOT. Hutton added, “I can’t say anything about that.”
In his experience with these two positions, Hutton found that he is “so passionate about helping people—especially refugees. It’s so rewarding to be able to teach something to someone and to help them learn.”
Hutton also joined College Choir this past fall. The group visited and performed in various churches and high schools in the northeast over their February break tour.
“I also volunteer at the fire department,” Hutton said. “I joined that last year.” His involvement at the fire department includes reporting for calls and attending weekly meetings. Hutton was inspired to volunteer at the fire department by a few of his cousins who are also firefighters, and also his brother, a Houghton graduate, who was involved in the EMT program. “They’re always looking for student applicants,” he added.
As a biology major, Hutton has been involved in various research projects. “Last spring, I was conducting research with Dr. Wolfe. We were measuring chloride levels in nearby Allegheny lakes,” he said. “In the spring, snowmelt and rain can cause road salt (NaCl) to flush into watersheds and accumulate in nearby lakes and rivers. Chloride levels in these lakes can fluctuate depending on how harsh the winter was. Myself, Alyson DeMerchant ‘18, and Evan Stern ‘18 presented our findings at the Rochester Academy of Science at St. John Fisher College in Rochester.”
This semester, Hutton is conducting research with Dr. Poythress, as well as Esther Udo ’18, Sarah Vande Brake ’18, Zachary Fisher ’18, Keegan Frenya ‘19, and Tess Taggart ‘18. “We are testing a therapeutic method of electrical stimulation to heal wounded smooth muscle tissue,” he said. Hutton and the rest of his group will present their research on April 23.
Hutton wants to attend school to become a physician’s assistant, but not before he takes a gap year after graduation in May to gain experience working in a hospital or a clinic. He plans on moving to Scotland for the year to work and teach piping.
During his freshman year, Hutton admitted that he wished he had gotten involved on campus more. When asked what advice he would give, Hutton said, “Don’t overextend yourself, but definitely once you get settled, don’t be afraid of signing up for stuff like jobs, clubs, anything. And stay in touch with your family.”