Feb. 13, 2024

Student takes learning, biology interests to coast of Maine

By Kayla Holman, communication assistant

A Northwest Missouri State University student’s experience at a coastal laboratory provided her with insight into the state of oceans while improving her communication skills as an aspiring scientist.

Lauren Valenzuela, a senior general biology major from Pittsburg, Kansas, spent 14 weeks last fall at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine.

The Bigelow Laboratory is a nonprofit research institute composed of scientists who study ocean health. The laboratory offers a Sea Change Semester program that allows undergraduate students to take a full course load while conducting hands-on ocean research.

“After this program, I have really felt empowered as a scientist,” Valenzuela said. “I learned a lot of things that I can apply to my future career, and even currently during my last semester at school.”

Valenzuela’s coursework at the laboratory focused on ocean environment, biological oceanography, ocean biogeochemistry and oceanography field methods. She also joined research cruises every two weeks and assisted scientists by collecting water samples and calculating water turbidity.

“All of the different collections we did are typical methods seen as sample collection on real-life oceanographic cruises,” Valenzuela said. “In addition to those techniques, I learned a lot of information about the state of our oceans, the processes that are occurring in our oceans and how to become a better science communicator in my career.”

Additionally, Valenzuela worked on two research projects, one with a scientist and one independently. With her mentor, Dr. Julia Brown, a scientist at Bigelow, the pair focused on the impacts of low oxygen on microscopic life and relationships. Valenzuela's independent study focused on the Damariscotta River Time Series, a long-running study of the river.

“It was very eye-opening to actually be in a lab,” Valenzuela said. “I was actually seeing how science works in the real world.”

Valenzuela says the academic skills and knowledge she gained from Northwest’s Department of Natural Sciences helped her during her time at Bigelow. 

“While I was at the lab, all of the courses I was taking and a lot of the stuff I was doing for research – I was really relying on the information that I learned from the science department to be able to do all of the things I was doing,” Valenzuela said. “The students came from different backgrounds, and I feel like I had all the basics I needed to understand, at least a little bit, what all of the scientists were talking about.”

Valenzuela transferred to Northwest in 2021 to join its marine biology program. After taking a microbiology course, she changed her major to general biology to focus on micro-based coursework. She also is a supplemental instructor for botany and mentor at Northwest's Student Success Center.

After graduation this spring from Northwest, Valenzuela hopes to pursue a doctorate degree in quantitative biology.

“Transferring to Northwest was one of the best decisions I have ever made,” Valenzuela said. “The biology department at Northwest is unmatched and full of professors that have equipped me with all of the knowledge and skills I need to do well in graduate school.”