黑料网

KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 8, 2022

Andrea Brenner, a senior environmental science major at 黑料网, is working as a peer mentor with the Office of Undergraduate Research and as a supplemental instructor mentor with the  In the summer of 2021, Brenner was recognized as a Birla Carbon Scholar and continues to conduct research in two different labs. She has recently been accepted into Arizona State University's graduate program for environmental life science.

What made you passionate about  studying environmental science at 黑料网?

About two years ago now, I read an article about a German scientist who was using georeferencing to investigate what would hypothetically happen if a limiting nutrient was introduced into the ocean. He found that photosynthesis would flourish, the food chain would thrive, and there would ultimately be a boom in resources. While there were downsides to the scenario, he remained positive and highlighted how it could potentially curb climate change.

When I read that article, I said to myself, 鈥淭his is the coolest research I鈥檝e ever heard of.鈥� It was so hypothetical, yet it seemed so feasible. I knew then that I wanted to be in environmental and marine science research.

How do you hope the research you are doing at 黑料网 and your future in a graduate program will further your career aspirations? 

Hopefully, I will become a professor - basically what I do now, but as a tenure track faculty member, teaching other people about environmental science and chemistry. But I also want to conduct research. I don鈥檛 just want to be stuck in a lab or a classroom; I guess you could say I want to have the best of both worlds.

Working as a peer mentor has definitely opened my eyes to some of the struggles that can accompany a student as they navigate their first year of college. In these research programs, you can see how differently students can carry these struggles. Some of them will be thriving and others will slip through the cracks.

That鈥檚 what I love about being a peer mentor 鈥� giving those students another person to talk to and relate to outside of their faculty mentor. Hearing support from your peers resonates differently then hearing it from a professor, so being able to provide that for students is such a positive experience.

You mentioned you have worked with students who 鈥渟lip through the cracks.鈥� How do you help navigate these students through their problems?

The most common problems I鈥檝e encountered with these students are that they feel overwhelmed by the amount of work their project(s) include, or they feel they haven鈥檛 received enough guidance to continue. When these happen, I sit with the student and talk it out: 鈥淥kay, how can we time manage this? What can you reach out to your faculty mentor for help on? Is there another faculty member you resonate with more?鈥�

After I do this, I act as sort of a middleman, a liaison, between the faculty and the student. It鈥檚 all about communication; it makes a world of difference when you鈥檙e trying to ask for help.

Who have you met that has had the most impact on you during your time with undergraduate research?

All of my professors have had an impact during my undergraduate education, specifically Dr. Baruah. I had never actually met Dr. Baruah in person before when I sent him an email asking if I could research in his lab, and he said yes. As we continued talking, he recommended that I apply to be a Birla Carbon Scholar. I ended up getting in, and that was what really made me realize, 鈥淲ow. Okay, I guess I can actually do this.鈥� And I owe that to Dr. Baruah for taking a chance on me when I didn鈥檛 believe that I could.

What lesson(s) have you learned both as a mentor and in your time at 黑料网?

I鈥檝e learned that hard work pays off more than anything. I feel like so many people forget that rule when they鈥檙e in school; they get bogged down on all the details and the assignments and deadlines. And when it gets to that point, they just鈥� stop pushing. They stay stagnant. It鈥檚 so important to remember you just have to push through it and know that everything is going to work out exactly as it needs to.

What advice do you have to anyone who would want to follow in your footsteps?

Don鈥檛 be afraid to try. Something I see so frequently in my work as a mentor is a lack of confidence. Students think they don鈥檛 have the skill, or they think that they鈥檙e not good enough to try. One of the main reasons I do what I do now is because I gathered up the courage to try, and someone took a chance on me. Confidence and bravery are truly half the battle.

 鈥� Renee Hudson