Undergraduate Research Symposium

One of our Project Team students, Kendall Fogler, shares about her summer experience in the Virginia Tech Fralin Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) program, under the tutelage of Dr. Monica Ponder: “The Fralin SURF program that I participated in this summer mirrored graduate school training accompanied by weekly professional-developmental seminars. The final research symposium, held on July 30th, was the pinnacle of the summer. Through sharing my poster, I was able to discuss research on the validation of recovery methods for antibiotic-resistant bacteria with anyone willing to listen. I loved being able to talk about antibiotic resistance and how it is currently affecting humanity. Many listeners had never considered the subject before and immediately became fascinated; others were informed on the topic and were relieved to hear that research was being conducted in order to understand the consequences of overuse of antibiotics. The whole summer was an educational experience of a life time.”