Students and faculty of Prairie View A&M University packed the auditorium in the Don K. Clark Building on November 13 for the College of Juvenile Justice –Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center’s, in partnership with the Office of Research, Innovation and Sponsored Programs, Undergraduate Research Information Session. Attendees were able to learn about the benefits of participating in undergraduate research.
“Steven Thomas from Michigan State University talked to our students about the Summer Research Opportunities Program, Nma Ohiaeri from the CDC talked about their Undergraduate Public Health Scholars program, and Kristi Rodriguez from the University of Texas Health Science discussed career and internship opportunities for their Summer Health Professions Education Program,” said Dr. Susan Frazier-Kouassi, director of the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center. “For our faculty who attended, they learned about the benefits of institutional faculty-student mentored research and strategies for effective and successful undergraduate research. It was great because everyone got to ask plenty of questions and map out their next steps in the wide world of research.”
Students were encouraged to apply for summer programs and check out fellow student research experience presentations at the Scientific Research Symposium in the New Science Building. “Students who are graduating with a bachelor’s degree, who want to engage in graduate studies in the future, need to realize it’s a competitive pool,” said Frazier-Kouassi. “Undergraduate research makes them competitive, and it gives them a hands-on learning experience. For our faculty, research gives them more opportunities to develop their ideas and advance in their fields of study. Knowledge isn’t stagnant, it’s dynamic. So, engaging in research is really a win-win for everyone.”
To learn more about undergraduate research opportunities, contact Dr. Susan Frazier-Kouassi or Dr. Grace Abolaji.