Student Researcher Experiences

Honors student Ilana Valenzuela is eager to study aerospace and mechanical engineering. "I genuinely wish there was infinite time to take every class," she said.

After being accepted to 27 colleges, Anastasia Rastelli chose the U of A for its strengths in computer science, physics, artificial intelligence, and film and television.

More than 100 U of A students will graduate with Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees next week, prepared to work as "day-one-ready veterinarians."

The inaugural AI Core + Design Lab Summer Internship partnered with local employers to place students in a fast-paced startup environment and teach them to use AI tools.

From learning about search engine optimization to studying behaviors of echolocating bats, U of A interns and mentors have learned a lot from each other. In the stories below, your colleagues – as well as current and former students – talk about their experiences

The Defense Civilian Training Corps program prepares students for civilian careers in the Department of Defense. Students will share their stories at the DCTC Scholar Showcase.

Students have been preparing since 2016 for the launch of CatSat, a student-built small satellite also known as a CubeSat, that will collect data about space weather.

In addition to their coursework, graduate student researchers must balance multiple responsibilities, including teaching and mentoring undergraduates, after-hours grading, writing a dissertation, and managing daily life.

A childhood spent around older adults battling diseases including Alzheimer’s fueled Coco Tirambulo's desire to find new precision medicine treatments.

Read will support student-athletes' success on and off the field as the Tyler Family Endowed Assistant Athletics Director for C.A.T.S. Student-Athlete Development.

The College of Applied Science and Technology received $1 million from Google's Cybersecurity Clinics Fund to establish the clinic.

Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers have discovered about 80 new supernovas. Their findings provide a new window into the early universe.

Arizona student-athletes had an average GPA of 3.252 in the spring 2024 semester, marking the second highest spring semester GPA in athletic department history.

The University of Arizona Biosphere 2’s research and development team at the Landscape Evolution Observatory, including three student workers, are installing and will reap data from new imaging equipment. 

He is one of only 20 students nationwide to receive the recognition and be invited to the USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum.

The University of Arizona Yuma and three partner colleges have been awarded a USDA grant to equip the next generation of highly skilled agricultural workers and reduce barriers for Hispanic students seeking a bachelor's degree in the career areas of agriculture.

Totsoni Willeto preserves Colonial Era Spanish documents through his work with the Arizona State Museum's Office of Ethnohistorical Research, gaining valuable real-world skills in the process.

Shannon Taylor is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geographic Information Systems Technology (GIST) and a minor in Environmental Science from the University of Arizona. She resides on the ancestral land of her mother’s people. Through her coursework, she brings traditional ecological knowledge of the land to her studies.

After completing a B.A. in justice and law from American University, Bryce Dempsey is pursuing a B.S. in pharmaceutical science. He uses his background in law to bridge knowledges in Medicine and practice climate advocacy.

The University of Arizona is collaborating with Amgen, a global leader in biotechnology, to strengthen and diversify the nation’s STEM workforce.

Jacob Blais is a senior studying Natural Resources, and will pursue a Ph.D. in Ecosystem Science. As an intern for a NASA undergraduate research lab, he studies soil respiration in the Sonoran Desert.

As a Next Generation Intern and Biological technician for Saguaro National Park, Maya Tainatongo, an undergraduate student at UArizona, promotes engagement and educates students about ecological processes in the park.

Lexis Meza, a sophomore majoring in Biology, has been selected to join The Earth Grant as a Program Assistant after being a member of last year’s student cohort. She will be co-managing leadership workshops, social media, and outreach activities. 

The Earth Grant, a year-long leadership development program for select students, welcomes this year’s cohort of 24 students.

As a junior majoring in Natural Resources, Nadira Mitchell gets involved on campus and blends her personal interests with her professional goals.

Jamie Irby discusses her experience cleaning the Santa Cruz river and urges residents of Tucson to think deeply about their littering habits. 

Sam Wetherell, a sophomore at UArizona pursuing a double major in PPEL and EWRE, discusses accessibility in environmental spaces and the intersection between politics, economics, and climate advocacy.

Earth grant student volunteers carefully save molokhia seeds in the New Roots Garden.

Nicolas Katz, a senior majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, advocates for climate activism through community building.

Jazz Lewandowski discusses her extensive plant collection through her work at Awareness Ranch and an Earth Grant student.

Stella Heflin, a junior double majoring in Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences and Applied Physics, demonstrates how students can get involved and effect climate policy.

A group of students clean up trash in the dry Santa Cruz River, studying what they pick up to advocate for better, safer, and cleaner policies and business practices.

Earth grant student, Madison Goforth, volunteers at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, taking care of animals and small-scale vegetable gardens to provide sustainable and low-cost food.

UArizona Student Engagement & Career Development administers the Graduating Senior Survey to all UArizona graduating seniors and discusses the importance of internships in landing a job.

Brennan Breen, a senior in Chemical Engineering, gets involved on campus through various climate groups, and encourages others to do the same.

Peyton Smith, a junior in Environmental studies, talks about her experience with the Tucson community gardens and studying water in the desert.

A third year PhD student, Rebekah Walker, talks about greenhouse research and getting involves on campus.

Ida Sami is a Ph.D. student in the Arid Lands Resource Sciences program. Her research focuses on climate change adaptation planning and environmental science, she explores how heat stress affects pedestrian mobility patterns and their comfort level in multimodal corridors in hot and arid climates.

Get to know Oscar Mendez, a Ph.D. candidate who is studying how the parasite common in cat feces affects neurons in the brain.

Gurtina Besla, a UArizona assistant professor of astronomy, wants today’s students to have what she didn’t: community, paid internships, and clear paths to fulfilling careers—for which they’re actually prepared.

Get to know Stephanie Stewart, an undergraduate student whose contributions to NASA’s first-ever asteroid sample return mission will help ensure a flawless 5-second operation to capture dust from the surface of the asteroid Bennu.

Ayumi Pottenger is an undergraduate student studying molecular and cellular biology in the hopes of developing treatments for those with Parkinson’s disease while elucidating some of the mysteries of the brain.

Thomas Moon, a postdoctoral scholar who studies how enzymes function and interact with each other, talks about the process of research and getting out of one's comfort zone.

Earyn McGee is a PhD student who studies the effects of stream drying on lizard communities.

Using less than a third of the money it’d take to buy them off the shelf, five UA undergraduates built two telescopes for satellite observation—one of which will live in a once abandoned observatory.