Biology student learns from club, lab, and research experiences

Paige Ackerson is wrapping up her studies at Minnesota State Moorhead, majoring in biology with a medical and cellular emphasis with minors in public health and ecology and evolutionary biology.

BS in Biology

Paige’s end goal is to do forensic science, and it has been that way since she was a child, watching crime scene shows such as NCIS or CSI with her dad.

Paige’s love of biology brought her to start the student chapter of the Microbiology Club and take the president role her first year, then the public relations role this semester. The club has guest speakers, labs, fundraisers, and teaches skills of microbiology.

She was also a student lab manager and says her time management and organizational skills improved from that experience. Scheduling Dr. Pandy’s and students’ schedules was an important part of the job, as well as assisting in training new research students.

Paige is a learning assistant for students in cell biology, microbiology, and foundations of microbiology labs. She practices communication skills and guides students through problems. Paige says, “Seeing students gain understanding of the subjects has been such a satisfying part of my job.”

The Regional Science Center is a unique resource that Moorhead has to offer students.

“I love doing ecology work, and because my current classes and research do not cover it, I love that Moorhead gives me the opportunity to use my skills at the Regional Science Center,” Paige says.

The biology department prepares students for their future careers by pulling them into research projects with different faculty members. “After graduation, I would like to have a job at Sanford as a pathology tech. There are many different categories of research that a student can do at Moorhead. The classes I have taken and research I’ve done with Dr. Pandy have set me up to have all the requirements for my desired jobs,” Paige says. “Our instructors are well known in the community, too, so their strong letters of recommendation are wonderful.”

Paige also loves the interconnectedness of the five colleges and universities in the Fargo-Moorhead area under the Metro College Alliance. If there is an educational opportunity in the area that interests and assists you in your future career, you can take the class while being a student at Moorhead.

The schools also have great relationships with each other for research labs. “Instead of shipping materials to be worked on to a faraway research lab and creating massive delays, it is a quick drive to a different campus,” Paige says.

Paige has taken full advantage of the various opportunities Moorhead offers and has accumulated crucial skills for her future career. Her experiences of ample student organization, leadership and research as a biology student have set her up for success.