Name: Daniella Frank
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Major: Media and Communication Studies, Biology
Year: Senior
Though Tallahassee is her hometown, Daniella Frank wasn’t always sure about staying in Tallahassee. “I initially applied to a lot of out of state schools, and I got into all of them, and I was going to go far away, but there was a little part of me that couldn’t bear the thought that I would be cheering on someone else’s football team. I was born a Seminole, raised a Seminole and I knew I’d end up one.”
Daniella certainly didn’t let staying in Florida limit herself; “I knew if I was going to stay in Florida I was going to do it right. I knew Florida State had the best resources and the best community, so I knew if I wasn’t going to go away I was going to stay right here and do it the Seminole way.”
And do it the Seminole way she has. Frank is involved in a plethora of things on campus, serving as the Vice President of Operations for her sorority, Kappa Delta, two years as a Morale Captain for Dance Marathon and is a member of Garnet and Gold Key. Not to mention she has alsoreceived Honors in the Major for Biology and is in her fourth year acting as the Vice Chair for the Resources for Travel Allocations Committee, which funds RSO’s that are looking to go to conferences or compete in competitions. “It [RTAC] was one of the very first things I got involved with on campus as a freshman, I just told myself I was going to do it, and I did.”
As Daniella embarks on her last year in her sorority and as VP of Operations, she looks back fondly on her position. “We have almost 300 girls, and at some point or another I’ve gotten to work with every single girl, which I think is special because they [sororities] have gotten so big now that not everyone gets the chance to do that.”
Daniella is not one to shy away from a challenge academically, either, calling herself “addicted to learning.” She’ll graduate in the spring with a dual degree in Media and Communication Studies and Biology as well as minors in Spanish and Chemistry. With this, she hopes to help bridge the gap between the STEM field and the rest of the world, noting the discrepancy between the profound ideas in the sciences, and the researchers’ ability to communicate them in a way that is accessible to everyone.
As a woman in the STEM field, Daniella certainly feels the pressure to shine. “I know I’m representing a minority, I feel proud to walk into my lab every day and know that I’m setting a precedent for others.” Though pursuing her Honors in the Major was a daunting task, Daniella jumped in headfirst, putting in hours at the lab whenever she could, even working before game days decked out in Seminole attire. “It was very rewarding at the end of it all to be able to slap my name on the 30 something page report and say ‘This is what I found out and nobody else knew it before me, but I figured it out and now people know.’”
In what little free time she has, Daniella loves attending comedy and theatre shows, traveling and reading things other than textbooks. For those that are also trying to get involved, Daniella encourages trying everything. “If something interests you, you should try; you won’t know what matters to you or what’s important to you until you’ve tried it,” Frank states, “Once you do that, pick your priorities and tailor it down, because you can’t do it all. Give your all to your passions.”