student research

Reid Mizelle presented his research project, “The qPCR Detectability of a Bovine-Associated Genetic Marker in Composite Fecal Mixtures and in Microcosms”, at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Francisco this past June. The majority of the attendees at this conference were faculty and graduate students, very few undergraduate students so “for Roanoke College to have a student go to this is fantastic” states Dr. Brooks Crozier, Reid’s faculty mentor.  Dr. Crozier goes on to explain that conferences such as this one are “a good way for students to meet future graduate school faculty as well as students already in graduate school…those connections are critical.” This was Reid’s first time presenting at a national conference and he notes that the highlight was getting to meet a lot of big names and top people in the field. Reid even had the opportunity to meet a microbiologist whose work was referenced in his project.

Reid transferred to Roanoke College at the start of his sophomore year. He had been involved with Microbiology based research at his previous school and knew coming in that he wanted to do research here as well. Reid mentions that this has been “one of the best things I can take away from my undergraduate career. I’ve learned things in three years of undergrad that most people won’t get to; it gives me a step up.” Dr. Crozier points out that “I fully involve my students in my research projects to the point where they are helping to drive it.” He also mentions that Reid is “one of the most motivated students I’ve had” and that high motivation is what will get a student the opportunity to present at a national conference.

Reid’s advice to incoming freshman thinking about research is to “jump in the lab as soon as you can, the earlier you do, the more advanced your research can become.” Dr. Crozier recommends that freshman not only talk to their professors and advisors but also, “when other students are in a research lab, poke your head in and take a look at it.”

For more information on the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology you can visit: https://gm.asm.org/

Alyssa Bostrom, Roanoke College senior, presented her research project on Immigration and the media at the Eastern Sociological Society Conference. The conference was held at the Millennium Hotel in New York City this past February (23-26). The Eastern Sociological Society was founded in 1930 and is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting excellence in sociological scholarship and instruction.

While Alyssa’s project is focused in the sociology field, she is actually a Spanish major with a Communications minor. She became interested in the subject of immigration when she took a mass communications class and learned about immigration. Her project currently focuses on how immigration is portrayed in Spanish media versus English media and she is hoping to expand the project to look at how the current election plays into immigration.

This project is an independent study and was Alyssa’s own concept. She started her proposal last October and most of it was done during the summer of 2011. Dr. Shannon Anderson is Alyssa’s faculty mentor for the project. Since most of this project was done over the summer, Alyssa worked with Dr. Anderson via telephone and Alyssa stated that “It was cool having in depth input from a professor that you can’t get in the classroom. I learned how to do advanced research one on one while doing something that means something to me.”

Alyssa first presented her project this past parent’s weekend and then was advised to apply to present at this conference. There were over 500 presenters and projects at the conference and being chosen to present as an undergraduate student is a very prestigious honor as Alyssa was amongst many graduate students and professors presenting their projects.

For incoming freshman thinking about research, Alyssa advises that “if they have an idea, they should go for it because the professors will help and while its nerve-racking presenting, it’s nice to know that people want to hear what you have learned through research.”

For more information on the Eastern Sociological Society you can visit: https://www.essnet.org/

Dr. Chad Morris and five of his Anthropology students traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to present at the national meeting for the Society for Applied Anthropology. Alex DeLaricheliere (sophomore) presented her paper topic Beyond Forced Volunteerism: Assessing Student Attitudes Toward Service Learning; Amelie Rives, Shapreka Clarke, and Ethan Guebert (all juniors) presented a poster presentation on “Studying Away” at Roanoke College: Toward a Culture of Off-Campus Learning Opportunities; and Ashley Dameron (senior) presented a poster on Exploring the Intersection of Tourism and Religion among the Eastern Cherokee.

The “Studying Away” group looked at how to make studying away more appealing to students by asking students what they thought the advantages and barriers to studying away were. A random sample of the student body was taken based on five categories; 1) Freshman 2) Sophomores and Juniors 3) Seniors 4) Science majors 5) Humanities majors. The results from the sample showed that the advantages most students saw to studying away were cultural reasons, personal growth, academic benefits, and career benefits. Minor barriers students saw were difficult application processes, credit transfers, home sickness, language barriers, safety issues, and lack of desire. Major barriers were financial issues, time constraints, and lack of opportunities. This particular research project was part of Dr. Morris’ Anthropology 380 course and while the students did the actual research they did “work closely with Dr. Morris in preparing for the presentation as well as submitting portions of the research process along the way for his approval” says junior Ethan Guebert.

When asked what the student/faculty research experience was like for him, Dr. Morris stated that it is part of the reason he is here. “Anthropology is learned best by doing, hands on is the best way to get knowledge. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to work one-on-one with students because it allows them to pursue their own interests.”

Dr. Morris has been attending these national meetings for over a decade now and while there are not a lot of anthropologists here at Roanoke, he enjoys getting to go to hear new ideas and bring them back for his classes and research here at Roanoke. When asked what is was like presenting at the conference Ethan Guebert said that “presenting to professionals was stressful…but it was also very rewarding because I had the chance to see how the professional anthropology world works and I got to meet authors of some of my text books.”

Dr. Morris’ message to freshman about research is that there are “so many faculty members willing to do this work but it is important to understand that research will not fall in your lap. Be proactive and search out faculty members about research.” Ethan’s message is that “the opportunities are there if you look for them. The process won’t be easy but it is ultimately rewarding.”

For more information on the Society for Applied Anthropology visit: https://www.sfaa.net/