Video Transcript – LSAMP Student Testimonials

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[Sarah Goldrod – student]: My name is Sarah Goldrod. I am a major in mechanical engineering, and my minor is biomedical engineering, and my research advisor and mentor is Dr. Erin Mannen and she has the BABI lab on campus.

[Kolby Warfield – student]: My name is Kolby Warfield. I am a mechanical engineering student with a minor in biomedical engineering. My research mentor was Dr. Tyler Brown and we worked in the center for Orthopedic and Biomechanics Research at Boise State.

[Marissa Maldonado – student]: Hello, my name is Marissa Maldonado. I am a mathematics and STEM education major at Boise State University, and my research advisor was Dr. Marion Scheepers. 

[Sarah]: So i think the most impactful part of being in LSAMP over the summer was connecting with students and faculty and especially with people that I wouldn’t normally be around because once you are in kind of those upper division classes, your bubble kind of gets smaller and smaller with those people. So, during LSAMP over the summer we got to have a bunch of interactions with different people and seminars, and so, helped me kind of broaden my  perspective on what research really is, because that’s kind of how that tunnel vision looking at just my biomechanic side of things. So it was really cool to connect with other students and learn about their research.

[Kolby]: Being part of LSAMP, impacted me a lot in terms of my sense of belonging. I..I’ve had imposter syndrome since I started college, and, being a part of LSAMP and having other minority students, and other students in STEM, be able to have my back and have a community with me. Even later on in my career because, even later on in my school because this is my last year, it still helped a lot, even though I just joined recently. If I were to take a look around, there is one maybe zero people that look like me and because everyone in that does look like me in my major because we do exist aren’t in our classes, LSAMP is the place where I can go and see, ok, this person looks like me, black, brown, and all in between, It’s doing well, I am trying to do, and we deserve a place here. And that’s what really helps.

[Marissa]: Being a part of LSAMP was really an awesome opportunity in order to learn how to navigate math research, and it taught me a lot more about what that entailed beyond just thinking about exploring an idea. But really being confident and presenting that to my own community in mathematics and especially having those active conversations that exist outside the classroom was probably the best opportunity I had.

[Sarah]: So, if I only have one word to describe LSAMP, bunch of words come to mind like inspiring, grateful, unifying…but my word would be empowering, because I’ve got to meet a bunch of new people, learn about their experiences, and, as a female in a male dominant major, it can be a little intimidating so at times…..but I’ve gained a lot of confidence over the summer and I think that’s just very empowering being a female in STEM really.

[Kolby]:The one word I want to use to describe LSAMP is revealing. I would say revealing because it reveals your true self and reveals all the potential that you have as an individual in STEM and a minority. 

[Marissa]:I would say being an LSAMP scholar has changed me because I finally have my own workflow within how I pursue mathematics and understand ideas related to it. And I feel like before I used to simply be a student, but now I am transitioning into being an academic scholar, where I feel like I deserve and exist in an academic space where my ideas are respected and valid, and I can be a genuine part of the community.

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