One message reset the life trajectory for Kennesaw State University graduate student Lacey Harper. Two years after earning a bachelor’s degree in exercise science summa cum laude from KSU, Harper worked as manager at a sporting goods store when she received a message via LinkedIn from one of her former professors, Garrett Hester. Currently pursuing a master’s in exercise science, Harper has thrived in the Hester research group. Along with the important mission of improving the health of older women, she discovered her inner nerd, immersing herself in the data analysis of her various projects as well as the hands-on aspects of studying the effects of exercise.
While working as a substance use disorder counselor at Ridgeview Hospital, Lisa Reyes-Walsh’s supervisor told her, “You know, you’re a nurse through and through.” That reset the course for Reyes-Walsh’s life, though she never fully left counseling behind. She earned a bachelor’s in nursing from Kennesaw State University in 2011, and, now an assistant professor of nursing in KSU’s Wellstar School of Nursing, Reyes-Walsh has applied her knowledge of substance use disorder and ability as a counselor to educate nurses who can care for patients struggling with substance use issues.
The combination of a high school English essay assignment, a love of science and having an aunt who is a scientist led Ra’Nya Malone to major in biochemistry at Kennesaw State University. She joined Carl Saint-Louis’ laboratory her first semester, she has co-authored a published paper in a prestigious journal, she spent summer 2023 in a National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates, and she has presented her research at KSU’s Symposium of Student Scholars.
Two Kennesaw State University professors agree that good teachers know they can always learn something new about their craft, no matter how long they do it or how successful they’ve been at it. Professor of mathematics Ana-Maria Croicu and professor of software engineering Hassan Pournaghshband spent a week in May at the University of Georgia after being selected for the prestigious Governor’s Teaching Fellows Spring Symposium, a series of events dedicated to improving teaching skills in Georgia’s colleges and universities.
Senior biology student Katie Moerschel’s study on the effects of prenatal exposure to THC won the top prize on Thursday at the Birla Carbon Scholars Symposium. Now in its 10th year, the Symposium marks the completion of an intensive summer research program that allows students to apply their studies toward sponsored projects under the guidance of Kennesaw State faculty scholars.