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Brian was a long distance runner in High School. He was the co-president of the Outdoor Adventure Club.

In the classroom, he enjoyed STEM courses. He decided to attend CSU Long Beach which offered him the Presidential Scholarship and it was close to home.

Brian joins our podcast to share his undergraduate college journey at the Honors Program CSU Long Beach, The Presidential Scholarship, Transition to College, Internship, EE Major, and Advice for High Schoolers.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Brian Rogers graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Honors Program at CSU Long Beach.

Memorable Quote: “I wanted to do something to help my community. And I want to tackle those problems that don't have answers right now, I want to be the one at the forefront, trying to solve everything that's out there, and that's unknown currently.” Brian Rogers.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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In the 9th Grade while in High School in India, Nia decided that she wanted to pursue college abroad. She was interested in Biology, Math. She was part of Model UN.

When it was time to apply for college, Nia approached Education USA for guidance.

Nia joins us on our podcast to share her freshman experience at Creighton, Transition to Creighton, Research, Campus Activities, and Advice for International Applicants.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Nia Sequeira, an International Student, is a rising sophomore at Creighton University.

Memorable Quote: “… I was super interested in research ever since I landed in the US. My advisors back at Education USA kept telling me to engage in research and they were like getting involved in research in your freshman year would be really good.” Nia Sequeira.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Taylor has always loved Science. Particularly Biology & Math. In High School, she discovered Photography, which provided her with a creative outlet.

Taylor discovered research through a summer program in high school, something that has shaped her education career so far.

Taylor joins our podcast to share her undergraduate experience at Loyola University Chicago, Interest in Viruses and Diseases, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, and Advice for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Taylor Miller-Ensminger is a Goldwater Scholar who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Bioinformatics  from Loyola University Chicago. Taylor is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.

Memorable Quote: “Yeah, so bioinformatics really sits at this interesting intersection of biology, computer science and statistics. So it takes a lot of different fields and combines them so that we're able to ask some really complex biological questions. I think that's the beauty of informatics too, is if you're someone who's situated in that field, you kind of have one of three choices on where you end up research wise.” Taylor Miller-Ensminger.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Prof. Weldon got his start in research early. As a sophomore in High School, he worked at the National Institutes of Health.

He pursued Biology in college leading up to his doctorate. During his post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, Prof Weldon became very interested in Protein Engineering.

Prof. Weldon joins us on our podcast to talk about UG Research in Biological Sciences at Towson University, CUR’s role, Impact of Research on UG Students, Success stories, and finally Advice for High Schoolers.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Prof. John Weldon of the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University in Maryland. Prof. Weldon earned his PhD in Biology from Johns Hopkins University, Maryland.

Memorable Quote: “ Every week in a lab meeting, I asked my students to get up and talk about their project to everybody else. And then eventually, they're asked to do it on a larger scale at these poster presentations, and sometimes even oral presentations. And it really helps them to slowly become confident in what they're doing.” Prof. Weldon.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Tarana’s family love to travel and explore. Touring Sainte Chapelle in Paris, for example, made a lasting impression on young Tarana.

In her High School in India, Tarana found herself drawn to the theater and arts. She especially enjoyed the creative aspects like script writing, set production design.

When time came for guidance on US colleges, Tarana turned to Education USA. Advisor Deborah Rosario guided & helped her with the college process.

Tarana joins us on our podcast to share her undergraduate experience at SCAD, Interest in Art & Design, Transition to SCAD, Outside Activities, Summers, and Advice for International Applicants.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Tarana Pahlajani is graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Architecture from Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD).

Memorable Quote: “ … stay in touch with your peers and your professors, even from high school, if they can give you referrals, if they can give you recommendations, things like that. They are always going to be invaluable sources for advice, and support as well as job opportunities down the line.” Tarana Pahlajani.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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This April, I had the privilege of doing a series of conversations with undergraduate researchers at NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California.

This is the last in a series of 3 episodes  based on those conversations.

On this Episode we feature 4 Student Researchers on a variety of topics from College Athlete Brand Valuation, Impact US Military base presence in Japan Study, Web Comics and Music Curriculum for the Hard of Hearing.

The students are Mikes LeBlanc of Northern Arizona University, Levi Mahler of CSU Monterey Bay, Starr Swanson of LA City College, and Ryan Lofland of University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

Our Guests:

Memorable Quote: “I'm a very firm believer that just because someone's deaf or hard of hearing does not mean they can, they can't experience music. It might be a little different than how an abled hearing person would be, but it's not something that they can't do, and they can equally do it as much as anyone else.” Ryan Lofland, UMichigan Ann Arbor.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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This April, I had the privilege of doing a series of conversations with undergraduate researchers at NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California.

This is the Second in a series of 3 episodes  based on those conversations.

On this Episode we feature 4 Student Researchers on a range of topics from Hospitals to School Boards.

The students are Tobi Ojo of Virginia Commonwealth University, Susanna Kim of Johns Hopkins University, Tim Schulz of St. Catherine University in MN, and Natalie Castro of University of Colorado Boulder.

Our Guests:

Memorable Quote: “I think one primary skill that I learned is self confidence. I think where I went to school for my first undergrad, it just created such a stigma that you had to be a certain type of person to, mainly a hard sciences type person, like lab research, bench research, that sort of thing, to be a researcher. And when I saw the effects that I could have with populations just with analyzing data, and making recommendations to public health agencies and both private and public. I thought I saw how much capability I have to affect the world and affect change.” Tim Schulz, St. Catherine University.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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This April, I had the privilege of doing a series of conversations with undergraduate researchers at NCUR 2024 in Long Beach, California.

This is the First in a series of 3 episodes  based on those conversations.

On this Episode we feature 3 Student Researchers. Their research is broadly related to Inequities in society. 

Our Guests:

Memorable Quote: “ And everyone's like, Oh, you're gonna become a teacher? And I was like, No, I'm gonna just keep fighting to make sure that kids across the state have better educational opportunities, like as a whole.” Lucas Wolk, Moravian University.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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In High School. Maura was known for 2 things: Environment Sustainability and an obsession with Japan. She was the president of the Ecology club. She was creative. Good at Science. Math, not so much. So, she felt she wouldn’t be successful as a technical environmental professional.

Maura joins our podcast to share her undergraduate college journey at the Honors College at Drexel University, Environmental Sustainability, Co-Ops Experiences, Custom Design Major, and Advice for High Schoolers.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Maura Jarvis graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Custom Design Major from Honors College at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Memorable Quote: “Like even if you go to Drexel, I feel like everybody can have a truly unique experience, even if you're in the same major as somebody else, you guys could do completely different things based off of what your Co Ops are, ended up doing study abroad, what things you do on campus. So yeah, I just thought that was the coolest thing. ” Maura Jarvis.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Christina was involved in a lot of activities in High School. She was at Science Fairs. She was on the Tennis team, quiz bowl. She did choir, theater, acapella, and leadership roles.

But Science was her main thing.

Christina joins our podcast to share her undergraduate experience at Haverford College, Interest in Research, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, and Advice for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Christina McBride is a Goldwater Scholar who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. Christina is currently pursuing her PhD in Chemical Biology at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

Memorable Quote: “I can say my main thing is to really explore and to kind of take that jump, even if you feel unprepared, or that you don't necessarily have the skills that other people do, because you want to be able to explore so many different areas. Because even if something is tough, that doesn't mean that it's impossible. ” Christina McBride.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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