Student Achievement: Sarah Clark
Northwest University senior Sarah Clark won “Best Poster Presentation in Microbiology” at a SACNAS National Conference. SACNAS, the Society for the Advancement for Chicanos and Native Americans in the Sciences, recognizes some of the top scientific minds in the U.S.
The organization is all inclusive and encourages discussion of how to increase the number of minorities and women in STEM fields. The SACNAS conference motivates, inspires, and engages participants to achieve their highest goals in pursuing education and careers in STEM fields.
Each year, hundreds of undergrad students present in a poster session. Participants include students from Ivy League schools like Yale and Harvard, as well as small liberal arts colleges like Northwest. Sarah was one of 70 to win a prestigious award at this year’s conference.
The title of Sarah’s project was “Alteration of Host-Cell Metabolism by Murine Herpesvirus-68 (MHV-68).” To put things simply, she conducted research on viruses. Sarah began her research studies full time at the beginning of summer and has continued her research part time this fall.
Sarah says she owes much of her success to her research mentor, Dr. Tracie Delgado: “Not only has she has taught me in the lab; she has helped me look ahead to my future career. I would not be anywhere near where I am today without her.”
Throughout her time at NU, Sarah has made an impact in more than just the lab—she has also served as a leader on campus. “While a lot of my time is taken up by research,” Sarah says, “I also have had the opportunity to serve as an RA for the last two years.” Balancing these two roles has not been easy, but Sarah is grateful for the chance to be highly involved in the NU community.
Winning an award at the SACNAS conference is a significant accomplishment that requires knowledge, discipline, and passion. Sarah seeks to continue her studies in biology and will be applying to Ph.D. programs in microbiology and molecular cell biology in the next few months.
We are proud of all she has accomplished during her time at NU. Congratulations, Sarah!