Mount Olive College Students Place First At NC Academy Of Sciences Annual Meeting
MOUNT OLIVE – Biology majors Mariana V. Gattegno, from Longwood, FL, Lindsey M. Stanley, from Fayetteville, NC, and Jelena Y. Atkins, from Leland, NC, presented at the Collegiate Academy of the North Carolina Academy of Sciences annual meeting at Campbell University on March 23rd and March 24th. The title of their poster and talk was Wavelength-dependent Effects of Light on the Geotactic Response of 2nd Instar Larval Drosophila melanogaster. The University of Mount Olive seniors were awarded 1st place in the category for Zoology, Botany, and Ecology.
“These students worked hundreds of hours learning to perform research on a graduate school level. The experience and knowledge that they have gained by taking a hands-on course of this nature, which includes an extremely high level of interaction time and small class size, will provide them with the basic skills they will need to conduct research across their fields of interest,” says David Dommer, assistant professor of biology at University of Mount Olive. “They have had the exciting opportunity to discover something that no one else in the world knew before they discovered it and to see how thrilling new discoveries in science can be. I am immensely proud of their hard work, autonomy, dedication, and work ethics.”
After graduation Stanley plans to apply to veterinary school, Atkins plans to apply to forensic science programs, and Gettegno plans to apply to medical school.
Also at the meeting Dr. Mickael Cariveau, chair of the department of biological and physical sciences at University of Mount Olive, was recognized as the incumbent president of the North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS). Biology major Jennifer Floyd of Hope Mills was elected president of the Collegiate Academy of the NCAS. Dr. Jason Pajski, assistant professor of Chemistry at University of Mount Olive, was elected as a member of NCAS.
University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The College, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Research Triangle Park and Washington.
Pictured, left to right: Dr. David H. Dommer, Jelena Atkins, Mariana Gattegno, Lindsey Stanley