What is your hometown?
Dodge City, Kansas
What is your current school?
Dodge City Community College
What are your hobbies?
Spending time outside riding bikes and enjoying nature. I also enjoy volunteering in my spare time.
Are there any other fun facts you would like to share?
In my spare time I like going to the gym and getting my daily exercise to stay healthy.
How did you get interested in STEM?
I was interested in science since I was a kid. I spent most of my time outside looking for plants and animals. I also attended Science: It’s a girl thing camp at Texas Tech University and I really enjoyed it.
Why did you want to do research?
I wanted to do research to obtain the tools necessary to work in a lab setting. I also wanted to ask questions to the people working in labs in order to get an answer from a students perspective.
Tell us about your research project.
I am currently working on inserting the mCherry-tagged E3L gene into a vector plasmid. The mCherry is a red fluorescent protein that will allow us to […] visualize if the virus replicates efficiently with the E3L present.
What advice would you give your past self regarding school? How about for other students interested in STEM?
I would tell my past self and other students to go to school and try your best in your basic science classes such as biology, chemistry, and physics. The materials you learn in these will come in handy when doing research in the labs, including the math involved.