What do karate, six cats and a dog, the violin, and
biochemistry have in common? Bryanna Mountford.
Reynolds Honors student Bryanna Mountford has the intense
focus evident in many math, science and engineering majors. It’s the kind of
focus that earned her a Black Belt in Karate at the age of 17. It’s the kind of
focus that kept her in the National Honors Society throughout high school. It’s
the kind of focus that keeps her practicing the guitar, violin and piano. And,
it’s the kind of focus that helped her discover her passion here at Reynolds. (Bryanna is pictured here, last on the right, with her project team. Below, Bryanna strikes a karate pose.)
Bryanna may have shifted gears a bit as she figured out her
major, but she readily says that’s why she came to Reynolds. From Business
Administration, to science with a concentration on nutrition, ultimately to
biochemistry with a focus on research, her time at Reynolds has given her the
opportunity to find her way. In her first semester at Reynolds a friend told
her about the Honors program. By her third semester in Spring 2018 she had been
accepted. Her involvement in the Honors program garnered her the opportunity to
discover scientific research.
Bryanna’s discovery started when Professor Karen Neal suggested
that she apply for an summer intern position on a research project at the University
of Richmond. “I didn’t expect to get in,” said Bryanna. But on the basis of her
transcripts and letters of recommendation, she did get in, and in late May,
shortly after her second year at Reynolds had ended, she began working on a
research project alongside sophomores and seniors from four-year
institutions.
But Bryanna wasn’t involved in just ANY research project.
She was part of an REU, a Research Experiences for Undergraduates program funded
by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The REU program gives undergraduate
students an opportunity to participate in nationally and internationally
recognized research. REU Sites,
such as the one at University of Richmond, are created based on
independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage promising
students in research across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
Bryanna’s internship involved a biochemistry-based project.
Her job, along with five other undergrads, was to grow bacteria and isolate
proteins. “I enjoyed the internship much more than I thought I would. We all
had different levels of experience, but that didn’t matter. The work was very
fast-paced, we all pulled together, and helped each other. And, we worked well
together.”
They worked so well together that Bryanna and one of her
teammates were invited to an international conference in Canada to present
their findings. “The conference was motivating and intimidating at the same
time,” Bryanna said, “Motivating because I got to listen to experts in the
field. Intimidating because some of what they said went, whoosh, way over my
head. But, it was motivating too because I got to see what I could do if I went
in to research.”
With only a short few weeks of summer vacation, by August 20
Bryanna was back at the books. Her goal now is to graduate from Reynolds this
semester and apply to University of Richmond for the Fall 2019. Why U of R?
“Well,” Bryanna says, “It’s pretty. And, it’s awesome.” After that, it’s
graduate school. Being a biochemical researcher takes a bit of education, and a
whole lot of Bryanna-like focus.
