Q&A: Lauryn Glass ’28 Reflects on the Opportunity to Do Summer Research Before Her First Year at Muhlenberg
Glass, a participant in the MUHLES (Mentorship of Underrepresented students for High impact LEarning in STEM) Program, worked in Professor of Chemistry Keri Colabroy’s lab, where she built skills and friendships she’s carried into her first semester.By: Addison Star ’27 Wednesday, November 13, 2024 02:02 PM
Lauryn Glass ’28 conducts research in the summer of 2024. Photo by Shaiyan Feisal ’26This summer, Lauryn Glass ’28 spent eight weeks on campus, participating in the MUHLES (Mentorship of Underrepresented students for High impact LEarning in STEM) Program.
The MUHLES Program, funded by a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis (AVD) Foundations, aims to improve the retention of underrepresented students in STEM majors at Muhlenberg. For some students, including Glass, the program starts the summer before their first semester, for others, it begins during their first year. In addition to working with a faculty mentor — Glass’s is Professor of Chemistry Keri Colabroy — students are given a peer mentor (for Glass, Bernice Owusu ’25) working in the same lab to help guide them throughout their time at Muhlenberg. As part of the program, Glass received a stipend and housing to conduct summer research.
Did your acceptance to the MUHLES Program influence your decision to attend Muhlenberg?
Very much so, yes. I was deciding between two different colleges in the beginning, and this was very much a deciding factor for me. The other college that I was [considering] did not have any research program. They did not have a very strong science department that I wanted to be a part of. So knowing that Muhlenberg had this research program, and that there [are] many opportunities for me here in terms of science and in the science field, that really influenced my decision.
What was your favorite part of the summer program?
I would say that, of course the research is interesting, but also being able to hang out with the people in the lab afterwards, on the weekends. [My labmate] Jon Cohen ’25, would set up a whole Excel sheet of all the days we were free for the rest of the summer and he would schedule outing events to go to. We got to go on the Scenic Trail train route in Jim Thorpe. And then we also went to Bethlehem and we just kind of traveled around and explored the area a little bit. It was super fun.
Are you still working in the lab? What does that look like now that you have a full course load?
Working in the lab right now is a lot slower than the summer. I only work two times a week, and I find myself communicating and collaborating a lot more with other people in the lab. During the summer, the tasks I was given would usually last a week. Now during the semester, time isn’t as flexible, so everything is a lot more scheduled, with biweekly meetings with Dr. Colabroy.
How do you think being part of the MUHLES Program has affected your college experience?
I think it’s affected me positively. When taking the [General Chemistry] course, when we had our first lab, I felt a lot more confident in what I was doing. And especially just taking other classes in general and having a sense of what the campus looks like and where I am really helped me not have those little doubts that I would’ve had if I hadn’t come during the summer. Also, just having my labmates, my teammates, who I knew and I met over the summer, having those people and knowing that they had my back and they were available [for me] to text if I needed anything, that was super encouraging, to have that support from them. The support from Dr. Colabroy was great too.
