Northwest Indiana Native Dr. Gohn Joins Manchester's Department of Biology
Kylie Kroger
Dr. Cassandra Gohn joins the Manchester faculty this fall as a new assistant professor of biology. As a member of the Manchester science community, Gohn teaches Human Biology, Physiology and Anatomy this semester. She spent several years at Indiana University's large campus in Indianapolis, and expresses her excitement at being a part of a tight-knit community for a change.
Gohn followed in footsteps of her mother and attended her alma mater. "My mom went to Saint Mary's College, my dad went to Notre Dame,” she said. “I kind of grew up on the two campuses. It was kind of ingrained in me that I would end up there, and I preferred Saint Mary's out of the two schools." Gohn graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s in biology as well as a minor in both sociology and chemistry. After her time at Saint Mary's, Gohn went on to get her doctorate at Indiana University's School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and graduated this past June.
The connection to faith and community at Manchester are largely what brought her here. "Manchester is a lot like coming home,” she said. Gohn fell in love with the connections made on smaller college campuses, such as Manchester and her undergrad alma mater. "I came from a place where I had really great interactions with my professors, some of them I still keep in touch with today, and that was something I wanted to be a part of,” she said. In addition to being part of a small community, Gohn liked that Manchester had ties to her beliefs. "I grew up Christian, so I really like the faith aspect and being able to communicate that freely on campus,” she said.
On a larger scale, Gohn is proud to be a member of the science faculty. "The science community is a great place for collaboration,” she said. “It is so inclusive, and welcoming to brainstorming. There are no stupid ideas." However, Gohn also says that she hopes if she can teach her students anything, it is how to be self-assured in whatever they do. "I hope to inspire my students,” she said. “If I could just have students come away feeling like they are more confident, even if it is just in their communication skills. I know not everyone is a science person, and that is totally fine. If they can leave my classes feeling like they found their voice a little bit, that is my number-one goal. Just to make them better people."
In addition to her background in science, Gohn also has a history of raising animals. Before she became Dr. Gohn, she was a 10-year member of 4-H. "I raised rabbits, which is really dorky and it's fine," Gohn said with a laugh.
When she isn't teaching, Gohn is an outdoor adventurer. She and her husband, who works as a pilot, and their Doberman puppy love to be outside hiking and sometimes even mountain biking. Gohn and her husband are also big Notre Dame fans and love to travel up to South Bend, where she grew up, to watch the Fighting Irish.