Undergrad Picked for Microbiology Teaching Fellowship
UALR triple major Ashley Scott, who is working on degrees in biology, chemistry, and English, has received an undergraduate teaching fellowship from the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) in Washington, D.C.
She is one of five higher education undergraduates in the nation selected for the two-year fellowship, which is aimed at highly motivated and competitive students interested in teaching careers. Scott’s goal is to pursue a Ph.D. to teach and research at the college level while integrating high school students into college programs by introducing them to microbiology research experiences.
The award provides the opportunity to develop a project to provide instruction in a scientific discipline in a local school or community setting in partnership with a mentor at their home institution and a teacher or site coordinator from the host site.
Scott will receive a $2,500 stipend, a two-year ASM student membership, and up to $500 for supplies and instructional materials. She will also be encouraged to to submit abstracts and applications to attend the 2009 ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators.
Dr. Olga Tarasenko, an assistant professor of biology in UALR’s College of Science and Mathematics, will serve as Scott’s faculty mentor. Melissa Donham, a teacher from Little Rock Central High School, is acting as Scott’s school teaching mentor.
This summer, Scott and her mentors brought two groups of high school students into research labs and exposed them to scientific research experiences studying sugar polymers in microbiology. The students were allowed to conduct their own small projects and present their findings to their peers.
“One of the students has elected to continue his research with us this term and will enter a poster in the 2008 BioNanoTox Conference at UALR in October,” Scott said. “In addition, this has spawned an interest in exposing high school students to the research process and I have been invited twice to give presentations to Mrs. Donham’s biology classes at Central.”
The American Society for Microbiology, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest single biological membership organization, with over 40,000 members worldwide.