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-walled laboratory at the Rieke Science Center on lower campus. Rebuilding the north side of Rieke to support the unique device – including Professor Dean Waldow’s “science on display” glass enclosure – brought the NMR cost to more than $1 million, all of which was paid for by sources outside the university. Eventually, the group sees not only students using the machine for student-faculty research, but local community and four-year colleges bringing samples over as well. The chemistry faculty members

and Nelson was able to get financial aid and a scholarship to make the financial transition. Instrumental in her development of her passion for service was a psychology class with Professor Jon Grahe and working with children at Thompson Elementary in Parkland. “Working with those children, and in that program, it changed everything for me,” said Nelson, who graduated with a degree in psychology. “I knew that I wasn’t going to be a research scientist then.” The climate at PLU also encouraged

collectively tell Parkland’s story. And, while acknowledging and showcasing the community’s values, it also will be helpful for PLU and Parkland to build a better understanding of one another. Work on the mural already has begun—a group of volunteers gathered to prime the art wall at the Parkland Post Office, on the corner of Garfield and C streets, on April 26. But the inspiration for the project struck quite a while ago—and quite a ways away. On a Wang Center Research Grant trip to Oaxaca, Mexico

year.    Check out worldofdifferenceseries.com for more information about the MediaLab documentary. Visit www.plu.edu/medialab to learn more about MediaLab, the applied research and multimedia program. Generous funding helped make “A World of Difference” and “More Than a Mission” possible. The former received funds from PLU’s Wang Center for Global Education and PLU’s Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability (DJS) Fund.  The latter also received funds from PLU’s DJS Fund, as well as the Center for

through your internship? It is a full-time job. I work about 40 hours a week. It is a heavy workload, but it is also fun, so it doesn’t feel like work. We are making a simulation for small satellites. I work remotely for the Langley Research Center in Virginia, and my mentor there has really helped me with making connections while working virtually. The three-hour difference in time zones is a bit of a challenge, but it is manageable. One of my biggest takeaways from working with NASA is the

covers the modeling process and techniques, then asks students what they’re interested in. “It’s an ocean of knowledge,” she said. “You can pretty much model anything.” In her own research, Zhu uses math to understand underlying mechanisms in developmental biology, such as pattern formations in butterflies, the kind of unexpected application that opens students’ minds to possible connections—not only between math, physics and computer science, but also the life sciences and humanities, connections

continues to be the choice art form for so many talented vocalists and composers? There are many reasons why vocalists and composers will participate in the choral genre. Speaking for myself, I enjoy singing and feel great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment when singing in a choir. Singing is a full-body physical activity that is connected to emotions and mental well-being, and there’s even research on its correlation to affecting heart rate. I believe each chorus member fulfills a need when

like her time in Namibia, where she essentially built her classroom—from the daily lessons to the posters on the walls.  “I learned what it was like to kickstart a music classroom from nothing,” Jessa says. “I created my own safe space, and that was really fun.” Read Previous Inspired by Women: Cora Beeson’s research in Indonesia began with her Taiwanese grandmother’s caretaker Read Next Creative Community: Autumn Thompson ’24 reimagines PLU spaces—in the art gallery and the residence halls

thing to think about is the fact that even the students paying the full sticker price at the most expensive college in America (currently that’s Sarah Lawrence College, at $67,000 per year) are still receiving some subsidy from society—tax breaks, tax exemptions, gifts, endowment proceeds, federal and state grants for research, construction, and equipment, etc. So, as “commodities” go, a college education is one of the most complex “products” there is. That’s probably enough for now. Please comment