Research opportunities provided by The OWU Connection have given Ohio Wesleyan the leg up to earn national awards and acceptance into prestigious graduate programs.
Ali Amer ’23
Major: Biochemistry
OWU Connection Experiences: Internship performing research in the Department of Pediatrics at Texas Children’s Cancer Center; Summer science research with Prof. Bethany Rudd; independent research project.
Vincent Larente ’23
Major: Business Administration
OWU Connection Experience: Wherein-Williams sales & management internship.
Makenna Juergens ’23
Major: Zoology
OWU Connection Experiences: Summer Science research with Dr. Amy Downing studying salt tolerance variation in the invertebrate Daphnia Pulicaria; independent research project related to the summer researh; animal care internship with the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, OH, responsible for upkeep of enclosures, providing enrichment, administering meals and medications, and giving educational keeper talks to guests;
Makenna says: “Being part of the SSRP gave me valuable research experience and encouraged me to pursue graduate school.”
Josie Fornara ’23
Major: Zoology & Environmental Science
OWU Connection Experiences: Senior honors project, in which Josie received OWU Connection funding to travel to New Mexico to conduct research on nesting ecology and predation; Summer Science Research on wren behavior; internship with OWU Museum of Natural History; Biology Travel-Learning class to Alsaka.
Gabriela Stefanka ’23
Major: Psychology
OWU Connection Experience: Internship
Emily Bode ’23
Major: Microbiology
OWU Connection Experiences: Independent research project on Bacillus collection presented at Spring Student Symposium; internship.
Daniel Eilert ’23
Major: Philosophy
OWU Connection Experiences: Internship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s bio behavioral health lab in Columbus analyzing data from neuroimaging research done on child brain development. He used this work in an independent research project.
Miranda Klank ’23
Majors: Geography and Sociology & Anthropology
OWU Connection Experience: OWU Connection grant to perform airborn LiDAR sensing for archaeological surveying of indigenous burial mounds; study abroad at Galway Archaeological Field School
Kaito Iwasaki ’23
Majors: Astrophysics and Mathematics
OWU Connection Experiences: Cornell math Research Experience for Undergraduates in Ithaca, NY; Summer Science Research project studying star spots with Prof. Harmon; senior independent research projects in mathematics and astrophysics; internship as international program assistant at Sakae Institute & Emporia State University in Kansas.
Ethan Grimes ’23
Majors: Chemistry and Zoology
OWU Connection Experience: Independent research project with Professor Grunkemeyer to determine if aquatic plants could be used to remidiate runoff water pollution.
Wesley Rancher ’23
Major: Environmental Studies
OWU Connection Experience: Research project to map the impact of road salt on freshwater ecosystems in Delaware Cunty using ArcGIS, an online geographic information system software.
Wesley Says: “I’ve gained confidence with mapping approaches and methods, and I’ll be able to incorporate this acquired knowledge with different research regarding the environment.”
Gabriella DiGiacomo ’23
Major: Microbiology
OWU Connection Experience: Internship at Wild Sun Rescue Center in Cabuya, Costa Rica.
Ethan Berkovitz ’23
Major: Finance
OWU Connection Experiences: Internship as investment banking summer analyst with Brown, Gibbons & Lang in Chicago; financial analyst internship with Redwood Living in Cleveland; financial planning internship with Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, in Worthington, OH.