With such a small Biology class size, Longwood has given me the opportunity to get to know the people in my classes very well. I have built strong relationships with those around me that could last through the greater part of my professional career. Through friendship and support, we have all been able to grow as academics, professionals, and adults. I hope to specifically outline experiences where growth occurred in a shared, constructive setting.

Document A is representative of an earlier time in my collegiate career that I spent collaborating with others. In my molecular biology introductory course (BIOL 250), I was able to support my group members’ understanding of lecture material through lab activities. The resulting Document A selection is a representative clip of our knowledge and comprehension of bacterial transformation techniques. By combining my previous knowledge of the material with my other members experiences with collegiate-level communication via presentations and poster organization. To learn more about this document, please see Document A in the section below.

Document B is the poster presentation created in a group with the other 4 individuals in my Quantitative Analysis (CHEM 350) class focusing on analytical chemistry techniques. The intention of the work we conducted was to work as a laboratory team in a research setting. Much of our planning and decision making was student-driven and the instructor ensured she supported from the backseat. The resulting document was a poster we presented as a group that we were all intimately familiar with. We all shared data and credit in a way that fostered each others’ growth and development as researchers. To view more about this document, please see Document B in the section below.

Document C is a selection from one of my highest level courses, Immunology (BIOL 404). The presentation was prepared for the 2023 Research Showcase in order to communicate our understanding and knowledge of immunological diagnostics, the nature of immunodeficiencies, and Longwood Biology’s rising healthcare workers. Through working together with little instructor guidance outside of supporting lecture material, we were able to work as a team of medical laboratory scientists and create a diagnostic result for a mock patient. By supporting each other’s understandings of complex immunological pathways, some members filled in gaps that other members had in knowledge. The ultimate result was this presentation, delivered at Longwood University’s 2023 Student Research Showcase. To learn more, please view Document C below.