Since I’ve started at WVU, I’ve really
solidified my research interests, and now
I feel like I can really explain my research
to a lot of different audiences and be confident
when I say the things that I’m interested
in.
I chose my major because I’ve been interested
in a career in research science for a really
long time, and my biology coursework in high
school sort of sparked this interest in understanding
evolution. So, by the time I’d gotten involved
in Dr. Rita Rio’s lab at WVU’s Department
of Biology, I’d really sort of solidified
my trajectory towards a research career in
the life sciences. I would say my major has
prepared me for my future career in a lot
of different ways, namely between my research
experience and my coursework in biology at
WVU, I’ve really been given this great toolset
for critically analyzing the literature, designing
new experiments to answer novel scientific
questions, and there’s also been a great
emphasis on sort of science communication,
which I think is really important around now
and all those sort of go in to a future career
as a researcher, instructor, and mentor in
an academic context, which is my current goal.
My most memorable moment at WVU was probably
last summer when I won the Best Poster in
Biological Sciences award at the Summer Undergraduate
Research Symposium. That was part of my Summer
Undergraduate Research Experience. Shout out
to the office of undergraduate research at
WVU. And I was just excited enough to have
the sort of funding to do research in the
lab over the summer, but after all that hard
work, that recognition from that award was
a really emotional moment, I think. I would
recommend WVU to a sibling or a friend because
I think it’s just an excellent place for
experiential learning, and it really caters
to the undergraduate. Between its research
productivity and its land-grant mission and
all of the great programs offered here, I’d
say that it’s just one of the best places
you can really get a start getting experience
with stuff and trying out a lot of new things,
which I think is really important for sort
of developing a career path.
