MARSHALL—East Texas Baptist University biology major Lauren Charron had the sought-after opportunity to conduct undergraduate research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. But the summer internship almost didn’t materialize.
“I had applied to eight different summer research programs and was denied acceptance,” said Charron, a senior from Grand Prairie.
Haley Banks
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Lauren Charron
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“I was disappointed, but I knew that God had great plans for me. I surrendered to and trusted him with my summer.”
She landed her research position after a phone call and conversation with the dean of the UT Southwestern Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences.
“I sent her my resume and transcript, which she forwarded to the principal investigator in the immunology lab,” she said.
“I was offered the position and became part of the summer undergraduate research fellowship program.”
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Charron wants to become a biomedical researcher—an interest that grew from personal experience.
“My mother has Crohn’s disease, which is an autoimmune disease,” she said.
“Seeing how this disease has affected her life has pushed me to go into research so that I can hopefully find a way for people with autoimmune diseases to be able to live full and healthy lives.”
Charron found her Christian faith challenged and strengthened by the internship.
“Being from a small Baptist school, I am able to openly and frequently talk about the love of my Savior and the many things with which he has blessed me. However, in my experience this summer, I found that most people do not believe in God. Some even looked down on those who do have faith, because they believe that if you have science you do not need God,” she said.
Another ETBU biology major, Haley Banks of Palestine, worked in a research internship at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. It marked her second consecutive summer working at M.D. Anderson.
“The goal of the project that I was working on was to discover the mutational status of DNA,” said Banks, who hopes to become a pediatric cancer researcher.
“ETBU has prepared me for graduate-level research. The education that I am receiving at ETBU has helped me understand the context of what was happening in the lab I worked in.”
Charron said, “In graduate school you have to learn things on your own. I have had classes at ETBU that have made me think critically, thus pushing me to find information on my own.”
Charron and Banks both noted the benefits of the summer internships.
“I now have a brief understanding of what my life will look like during the lab years of graduate school as well as the career I hope to pursue,” Charron said.
Banks added, “This experience has not only been humbling and eye opening, but I have gained a new respect for how hard doctors and nurses work to find a cure for cancer.”
Charon plans to graduate in May and hopes to attend UT Southwestern Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences.
Banks has been invited back next summer to M.D. Anderson to continue her research.
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