By late March of last year, Rebecca Beuschel was unsure that she would hear back from the Goldwater Scholarship. While working in the Grant Lab on the Manassas campus one Friday, Prof. Granfield notified Beuschel to check her email. “It was honestly one of the most exciting moments of my life,” explains Beuschel, a 2018 Goldwater Scholarship recipient.
Since 1989, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation has awarded the prestigious one- or two-year grant to undergraduate students in STEM fields. One of 211 recipients among 1,280 applicants, Beuschel will earn up to $7,500 to cover educational and residential expenses.
Beyond financial support, earning a Goldwater Scholarship allows Beuschel to access opportunities that expand her research experience. “It widens my options for graduate school,” explains Beuschel, who is Mason’s third Goldwater Scholar since 2016.
Beuschel’s experience presenting research at a national-level conference helped her earn the Goldwater award. Concentrating in biotechnology and molecular biology, Beuschel carried out a year-long research project investigating Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Funded by the Grant Lab, the Honors College junior presented her findings in Nashville, Tennessee in November 2017.
“I was able to present my research to some of the biggest names in the IPF field,” says Beuschel, who communicated her findings to doctors, scholars, and patients with IPF.
Earning the Goldwater Scholarship enables Beuschel to reach her career goal of researching and teaching at the university level. The funding will support Beuschel as she explores her research interests, ranging from cancer to developmental biology to neurogenerative diseases.
Beuschel, an Honors College junior from Williamsburg, VA, has been heavily involved with extracurricular roles, strengthening her communication skills as an emerging scientist. Beuschel has served on the Honors College Recruitment Team, the Honors College Curriculum Development Team, as a Peer Mentor for the Honors Freshman LLC, a Peer Research Mentor for HNRS 110, and a Learning Assistant for the honors section of BIOL 213 (Cell Structure and Funtion).
“The Honors College was crucial in supporting me earning the Goldwater Scholarship,” explains Beuschel, who is minoring in data analysis. Dr. LaNitra Berger and a team of other Honors College faculty helped review Beuschel’s essays, advising the junior through every step of the application process.
According to Dr. Berger, Honors College Director of the Office of Fellowships and the campus representative for the Goldwater Scholarship, the recent surge in Honors College students earning Goldwater Scholarships “is a sign that our capacity to support and nurture undergraduate researchers in STEM fields is increasing every year.”
With this award, Beuschel joins several other Honors College students who have received this award or honorable mentions. Three other Honors College juniors earned Goldwater honorable mentions in 2018: Jiajing Guan (mathematics), Doreen Joseph (cyber security engineering), and Brian Schnoor (bioengineering). In 2017, Honors College students Iris Stone and Zachary Baker were awarded the Goldwater Schlarship; Lucas Bouck (math), who has more recently been awarded the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, was an honorable mention.
“Several Honors College staff members, including LLC Coordinator Kevin Stoy, showed their support,” says Beuschel. “I’m so grateful to have had them all throughout my years here at Mason.”
See also: Damian Cristadero’s reporting on Beuschel’s award.
Original reporting by Jimmy O'Hara. Photograph by Geraldine Grant.