In honor of Undergraduate Research Week 2021, the winners of last year’s poster competition share words of appreciation for their research advisors and mentors.
“My research mentor, Dr. Kyle Quinn, was a fantastic resource for me as I was putting together my poster and he has been instrumental in helping me put together conference presentations and abstracts as well. I really appreciate that even as a undergraduate I can still get one-on-one time with him and that he cares about my work. Jake Jones, the graduate student I worked with, was also an incredible resource for me when I was learning the different techniques when I first joined the lab and continues to always be available to answer any questions I have. Jake defended his thesis in December so he is technically a postdoc now.” – Gianna Busch, honors biomedical engineering
“I would love to give a special thank you to my thesis mentor, Dr. Lanier Nalley. Dr. Nalley has been with me through every step of the research process – from creating the project in 2019 all the way through my thesis defense last week. He has always been so helpful and made sure I understood the why and how of everything I was doing. He was very patient with me and constantly affirmed me along the way as well. Without Dr. Nalley, I truly would have been lost from day one. I whole-heartedly believe every student would want to be in honors if they knew they had the support system of mentors like Dr. Nalley. There are many others I could thank because the Honors College has come to feel like a family to me.” – Alison Creasey, honors agricultural economics
“I would like to thank Dr. Lissette Lopez Szwydky-Davis for her initial and continual support of my research project, as well as for her invaluable insight and guidance throughout my time at the U of A. I’d also like to thank Dr. Geffrey Davis for his belief in my project as a creative thesis and for his intentional advice and wisdom over the past few years.” – Morgan Walker, honors English creative writing