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Auggie joins advisory board for First Lady Michelle Obama’s college opportunity campaign

Kitana HollandAugsburg College student Kitana Holland ’19 has been named to the inaugural Student Advisory Board for First Lady Michelle Obama’s Better Make Room campaign, which celebrates education and elevates the voices of Gen-Z students. As one of only five college students selected to the 17-person board, Holland will advise a new public awareness campaign designed to improve college access, college persistence, and college graduation on campuses nationwide.

Holland and her fellow board members traveled to the White House on Friday, January 6, to attend the First Lady’s School Counselor of the Year Ceremony.

Holland is a first generation college sophomore from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, majoring in sociology and a minoring in religion and leadership studies. While at Augsburg she has served as a senator in the Day Student Government, an URGO research assistant, a LEAD Fellow, an Auggie tour guide, and as a member of College Possible and TRIO. Through these experiences, she has used her creativity, relationship-building skills, and process-thinking strengths to positively influence her community.

According to a news release about Better Make Room, Holland is driven by her motto, “If the opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” and aspires to help first generation, low-income, and underrepresented high school and college students push through barriers to attain a college degree.”

Zyzzogeton event highlights student achievement

ZyzzogetonAugsburg College will celebrate the creativity and scholarship of undergraduate students on April 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the eighth annual Zyzzogeton Research Festival.

Held in Oren Gateway Center, the festival falls at the end of each academic year and is a culmination of achievement featuring work across divisions and departments.

This year, more than 80 students will present their research to the Augsburg community during a poster session. Zyzzogeton is an opportunity to hear about the exciting scholarship happening on campus and refreshments will be served throughout the event. Continue reading “Zyzzogeton event highlights student achievement”

Revolution and rap: Augsburg student researches Arab Spring

Cantrall_research“Music is more than organized sound; it can be a message from the heart of humanity,” according to Robert Stacke, Augsburg College associate professor of music. “Music can motivate a population in a manner that words alone cannot do. It is a powerful tool that can inspire political action and send its message to the world.”

Since 2010, political protests and revolts have erupted in more than a dozen Arab nations, and one of the American media’s most significant impacts on the demonstrations came from a medium that is, perhaps, least expected. Continue reading “Revolution and rap: Augsburg student researches Arab Spring”

Augsburg College students share research findings

URGOconferenceNearly three dozen undergraduate students will present findings from their on-campus research during the URGO Summer Research Conference from July 25-26.

Augsburg College’s Office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) provides summer research grants for students interested in professional study. Students further classroom learning with critical thinking and thoughtful analysis through faculty-led research that complements their degree programs.

This year, students’ topics include how individuals use tattoos to reflect self identity; studies of the motion of Daphnia magna, a water flea; the influence of rap music in the Arab Spring revolutions; and the expression of gender nonconforming identities, among others. Continue reading “Augsburg College students share research findings”

Sorum presents winning poster at AAAS annual meeting

sorum_aaasAt the 2012 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) international meeting in Vancouver B.C., biology major Alex Sorum won the student poster competition in the medicine and public health category. Alex won with his poster titled, “Effects of Airway Epithelial Secretions on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Formation” which presented the research he did as a Sundquist Scholar with biology assistant professor Jennifer Bankers-Fulbright during 2011.

Sorum did research on the bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that affects about 80 percent of cystic fibrosis patients by the age of 18. The bacteria is difficult to treat because it forms a biofilm in the lungs that protects it against antibiotics and white blood cells. He harvested secretions from a non-cystic fibrosis lung model and applied them to the bacteria to test whether the lung secretions would inhibit the formation of the biofilm. Continue reading “Sorum presents winning poster at AAAS annual meeting”

Irvine to coordinate URGO summer research program

irvine_urgoThe Augsburg College office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) today announced that Colin Irvine, associate professor of English, will serve as the URGO 2012 summer research coordinator, taking over most of the responsibilities previously performed by Dixie Shafer, URGO director.

With Irvine serving in this role, Shafer will be able to concentrate on assisting students with applications for fellowships and pre-health science positions. She will also be able to attend more national and international fellowship conferences to stay abreast of current issues and trends in the area. She will also continue to coordinate Zyzzogeton, Augsburg’s annual celebration of student research and creativity and work with graduate and off-campus summer research applicants. In collaboration with the URGO Advisory Council, she will continue to manage academic-year research and student travel opportunities. Continue reading “Irvine to coordinate URGO summer research program”

Representing Augsburg at our nation's Capitol

anthony_curThis spring during Undergraduate Research Week, Jeremy Anthony, a senior mathematics major, represented Augsburg College in the Council on Undergraduate Research Posters on the Hill event. This event held each year in Washington, D.C. showcases the research of 75 undergraduate students from colleges and universities across the country.

Anthony was one of 700 applicants who were selected to present his research at the Capitol. Mathematics professor John Zobitz, who was Anthony’s research adviser, said that the council chose projects that represented good examples of undergraduate research and also highlighted government support. Continue reading “Representing Augsburg at our nation's Capitol”

A summer of investigation and discovery

urgosummer10Research isn’t all test tubes and laboratories. This summer at Augsburg, students will create music, study Medieval history, compare Minnesota theatres, and even attempt to determine if a BMI can be established for dogs. For the 2010 URGO summer research projects, students will spend 200 or 400 hours conducting research with faculty from Augsburg and other institutions. Many will present their findings in May 2011 at Zyzzogeton, Augsburg’s year-end festival of academic and artistic achievement. Continue reading “A summer of investigation and discovery”

URGO Summer Research Oral Presentations

urgo_researchThis week, some of Augsburg’s undergraduate researchers will share the work they have been engaged in over the summer.

The office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (URGO) provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research because it displays an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study. Continue reading “URGO Summer Research Oral Presentations”

2009 URGO Summer Research Abstracts

urgo_researchersSome Augsburg students are discovering that summer isn’t just for working a few part-time jobs or perfecting one’s beach volleyball technique. This summer, 32 students will conduct research through the URGO program. And they’re not just studying algae growth. With their faculty mentors, this group is taking on topics like Minnesota’s percussion legends, saliva, Augsburg’s relationship with our neighbors, conspiracy fiction, aquatic insects, and the relationship between religiosity and depression…to name a few.

URGO—the office of Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity—provides summer research grants for students interested in graduate or professional study. The program encourages undergraduate students to conduct research by requiring an understanding of current questions in a field, the ability to collaborate with others, and the persistence necessary to meet the demands of graduate study. Continue reading “2009 URGO Summer Research Abstracts”