Truly Organic
Out of breath from his turn in a woodsmen’s team sawing competition in which contestants cut a single “cookie” from a log thicker than a phone pole, Doug Rooke ’08 stooped slightly, hands on his knees. On stage, the Stihl Individual Collegiate Championship continued. Top competitors from every team in the Northeast were taking turns, cheered on by a crowd
of spectators.
Without waiting for him to catch his breath, a reporter from ESPN-U stuck a microphone in Rooke’s face and asked how he’d become so good at sawing, coming from a liberal arts school like Colby. After all, he was competing against the best from New York forestry schools and Canadian varsity teams. Rooke, who had just placed third in the event, replied in his best deadpan, “Well, I guess it’s just because I’m a dumb animal, you know?” This is a student who will likely have his research in supra-molecular chemistry published before graduation. In this instance, as in many others, Rooke’s quirkiness—and his knack at creating unlikely combinations—shines through.
Rooke, 21, says that he has three loves at Colby: “Chemistry, woodsmen, and beer—not necessarily in that order.” He goes to the gym four times a week, is co-captain of the men’s woodsmen’s team, and still gets A’s in his chemistry classes.
Rooke manages to counter a lot of stereotypes. He can come off as a jock when discussing his new workout routine—but will also discuss the finer points of organic synthesis for hours on end. And though he’ll savor a pint of imported ale, he’s just as happy drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and sharpening axes with the woodsmen’s team. “He’s really just a big goofball,” said his sister Linnea Rooke ’09. “You know he flipped a coin when he decided to come here? Just like that.”
She says her brother has always done things his own way. He was heavily involved with athletics in high school. “He did pretty much everything—lacrosse, nordic skiing, and even outrigger canoe racing, you know, the list goes on.” But sports didn’t define him. He also spent a lot of time working on old cars and buying antique speakers.
It was in high school that Rooke fell in love with lab work, beginning with organic chemistry. “We had this o-chem elective, just a semester our senior year where we just got to play around with reactions and stuff. Everybody had a project and I made biodiesel—that’s pretty much what got me interested in organic synthesis.”
Bringing this interest along with his lucky coin and gym shorts, Rooke traveled the 3,200 miles from Seattle, Washington, to central Maine. His freshman year he made the lacrosse team, joined the woodsmen, and signed on as a chemistry major, donning goggles and a lab coat. Sitting in the research lab where he spends from eight to 16 hours a week, he explains his passion. “I put in the time to study organic,” he said, measuring out some sort of yellow substance, “because I really enjoyed it—to the point of being a huge dork. But the world needs dorks I guess.”
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