MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) -On Thursday, Northern Michigan University students stepped into the role of teachers for a few hours.
The school hosted its annual Celebration of Student Scholarship event. Senior Teniola Ajayi told a TV6 reporter that in addition to being a biology major, she’s also a young entrepreneur.
For her project, Ajayi spent hours researching and designing a tool to keep gym equipment bacteria-free. Ajayi says her research shows the bacteria found on benches can cause skin diseases, but she has a solution.
“I used my prior knowledge in biology and my creativity to create my portable bench cover designed for any bench to take with them,” Ajayi said.
Over 300 students presented at NMU’s Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship this year. Two other biology students showcasing their work were Bella Detinne and Zoe Moreno.
Their research focuses on developing a sensor capable of identifying brain cancer within a specific timeframe. Both say this event taught them how to better communicate the impact of their work.
“Communicating scientific research is very hard, to begin with, because of all the jargon that’s involved with it,” Moreno said. “Having an opportunity like this gives students like Bella and me the opportunity to practice research in a graspable way.”
Detinne says that working on the research project as a team has been the most rewarding part of the experience.
“We also have two other students we do research with, and it’s been really great to bounce ideas off each other and catch each other’s mistakes before they happen, all that kind of stuff,” Detinne said.
Faculty who were present say they had a great time learning from their students.
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