At UW-Green Bay, high-impact experiences – the ones that set students up for success – are our bread and butter. Hands-on and in-the-field work are the backbone of students’ education while attending any of UW-Green Bay’s campuses, but one student, in particular, has really taken advantage of the opportunities she’s had access to.
Junior Kayley Nelson is now a student on the Green Bay campus but started her college journey on the Marinette Campus after going to nearby Menominee High School. As a Marinette Campus student, Kayley received research opportunities in her courses right away. In her chemistry course with Dr. Mark Klemp, the coronavirus was just beginning to hit the United States and mutate around the world, so Kayley was able to research and learn about cutting-edge science in real-time.
“I did research on the coronavirus when it just hit the U.S. I wrote the research paper on how the coronavirus started and how it mutated,” Nelson said, “When I was writing the research paper, I emailed Dr. Renee Richer and she sent me some articles on the coronavirus, that had information on how the virus was mutating.”
As she learned more, Nelson settled into a major that was perfect for her interests – Human Biology with an emphasis on health science. With Dr. Richer in her corner, Kayley was connected to an internship at the Brain Center of Green Bay. “I reached out to Dr. Renee Richer about gaining more research experience and she helped me get my internship. I do research on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and how it affects brain health.”
Nelson’s advice to students? “Research is a great opportunity to make connections with other students and faculty. Research projects, internships, and research papers all look good on resumes and grad school applications!”
With an internship lined up and research already under her belt, Kayley hit the ground running when she started at the Green Bay campus this year. And it’s all thanks to her start in Marinette and the connections that she made there.
