Within my tenure at Longwood, the Biology department has fostered and guided my development and understanding of the field of biology. As a foundational introduction, the first step we took as a collective academic body was to solidify my baseline understanding of the biological sciences from the very basics. At its core, our department believes that the science of life is separated into three major themes or principles. These principles are cellular and molecular theory, evolutionary and ecological theory, and the dependance of all organisms on homeostasis. In order to reinforce these understandings, three core projects helped me to better learn the information in practice. Representing each of these concepts is a particular document listed below.

Document A is the results section of my Integrative Intro Biology (BIOL 120) project. This project was completed in a group setting. There was little instructor guidance as it was meant to mirror a project we had done prior in the semester and was an assessment of our learning from the aforementioned experience. Through working on this project, my group and I were able to integrate our understanding of homeostatic regulation and basic organismal metabolic functions in order to better understand the balancing act of nutrient benefit and the toxicity of nutrient overdose. Through finding the dosage-growth limits via graphical visualisation, the data further served as a synthesis of our first practices of collegiate biological experimentation and collegiate biological studies. To view the document, please find section Document A in the directory at the bottom of this page.

Document B is the poster created and presented by my group in Intro to Cellular and Molecular biology (BIOL 250). The poster was part of an online rendition of Longwood University’s Student Showcase for research. As such, we recorded our presentation to properly deliver it during COVID-19 restrictions. This project focused on understanding the concepts necessary to conduct proper bacterial transformation. BIOL 250 served as an important introduction to the depth that collegiate microbiological material would dive into. Without the strong foundation built by Dr. Alvarez in my BIOL 250 experience, I would not have remained as steady in my ambition to pursue “tiny things biology (see my About Me page)”. Within the context of the project, we studied the process of our successful transformation of Escherichia coli. Through this project we synthesised the learning experience of the heavy microbiological concepts in class with the reinforcement of lab techniques such as PCR, AGE, and understanding the importance of several experimental controls. In order to understand the project, it was important to understand the concepts taught in class. To view this work, please see Document B in the directory at the bottom of this page.

Document C is a presentation I worked on with a group for the first in-person research showcase Longwood would host since the online showcase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to better reinforce the understanding of ecology and evolution, Intro to Ecology and Evolution (BIOL 250) was structured so that we would draft our own research exploring biodiversity in our local area. My group and I looked at the biodiversity of aquatic organisms in Longwood University water sources. Through improving our understanding of evolutionary concepts via collaborative methods, we were able to, as a group, develop our own research methods to analyze diverse microorganisms. Only by truly being able to understand the key takeaways of the course were we able to successfully present our research to an audience of both researchers and non-scientists. To view this work, please see Document C in the directory below.