Contact: Jack Bailey (304) 766-4109 jbaile19@wvstateu.edu
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Two West Virginia State University (WVSU) biology majors have been selected to participate in international research opportunities this summer. Students will be traveling to Costa Rica and France to conduct hands-on research alongside accomplished scientists.
Edwina Barnett will travel to La Selva, Costa Rica, to study the effects different treatments have on seedling germination in legumes through the Research Experience for Undergraduates for U.S. Underrepresented Minority Students Summer Program.
Ky’Achia Atkins will travel to Toulouse, France, where she will attend a research workshop and have the opportunity to shadow a French scientist.
“This is a great opportunity for an undergraduate student that I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to attend without West Virginia State,” Atkins said.
Added Barnett, “It truly takes a village, and the relationships I have created at WVSU can attest for my success thus far and in the future.”
Both students believe these summer research opportunities will diversify their skills sets, help make them well-rounded scientists in their fields and ensure they succeed.
The opportunities are provided through the Kentucky-West Virginia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a consortium of colleges and universities working together to create, enhance and expand programs designed to broaden participation and increase the quality and quantity of students from underrepresented populations who receive degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Program goals and activities focus on undergraduate research experiences, graduate school preparation and international experiences. LSAMP is a federally funded program through the National Science Foundation. Follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter .