MSU NatSci Recognizes Drew Scholars

Research Scholars

The Dean’s Research Scholars are a group of outstanding undergraduate students who represent the nearly 5,500 hard-working science and mathematics majors in the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University. This outstanding group of students represent the College of Natural Science at events and speaking engagements across the U.S.

Oluwabusola Ajagbe, 2023-2024

Neuroscience

Chinese-Minor

Sophomore

College of Natural Science

Honors College 

Lagos, Nigeria

 

About

Oluwabusola is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, which is a huge part of her identity and has shaped the way she interacts with people and how she views the world as a whole. Busola’s interest in the field of medicine, specifically neuroscience, stems from her curiosity about the human body and ways to resolve pain, her passion for learning, and for meeting and helping people.

She is a sophomore in pursuit of a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a minor in Chinese.  She finds medicine to be an ever evolving field that focuses on identifying issues with the human body and treating the patient in the best way possible to resolve their ailment.  Despite the difficulties and uncertainties that may come with the field of medicine, her sense of curiosity draws her to the continuous learning process that doctors possess throughout their lifetime and this is part of her motivation to become a physician scientist.   

As a young girl, she has always been drawn to science, being intrigued by the development of plans, the origination of the human species and other fascinating topics.  She loves learning about chemistry and its potential for creating treatments illness and diseases. As she grows more mature and continues learning, she remains astounded and intrigued about the vastness of science, spanning the known and the unknown. Learning that there is more to science than meets the eyes has fueled her curiosity for learning about anything pertaining to the human body which is how she discovered the field of medicine and how it connects with her desire to meet and help people, while learning more about the human body and ways to resolve pain. 

Prior to coming into MSU, her goal was to choose a major connected to her curiosity for the human body as well as her new found interest in the human brain. This led her directly to majoring in neuroscience, as it would help her find answers to questions she's wanted answers to, such as, "how is there a level of superiority between the brain and the heart especially when either one is damaged, a person can lose their life? What causes the brain to deviate from its normal functions?

As a second year at MSU, she has found that majoring in neuroscience has helped her expand on her knowledge and increased her value for connecting with diverse people, thoughts, and opinions. This broadness of curiosity and her willingness to learn enabled her to add a minor in Chinese which has further evolved her understanding of the human brain, especially learning more about how second language learners form sentences and learn a new language. 

Despite how much she has grown as a learner and a person through her major, minor, and overall college experience, she believes that the more she gets through college and meet and interact with more people, the more she in her skills, knowledge, and confidence in preparation for her future as a physician scientist.

Impact of Undergraduate Research

Oluwabusola is really grateful to have the opportunity to gain research experience firsthand because it has taught her how to better collaborate with others, how to interpret and communicate her findings, how to multitask and stay on top of other tasks, and to understand that consistently repeating a test or procedure does not necessarily mean that the experiment is not going well but rather that consistent data is needed to push a finding ahead and that repetition also helps hers become better at a skill or procedure. 

Working in a research lab has helped her to see and experience what it takes to be a researcher and has shown her other fulfilling career options related to her major outside of going to medical school.

Karina Canning, 2022-2023

About

Karina Canning grew up in the small southern border city of Edinburg, Texas, where leaving, initially, seemed too far out of reach. As a child, her dream was to go out of state for college, she never knew where but she just knew that she was going to make it possible.

She was always a high achiever, someone who went above and beyond academically and extracurricularly just to have the chance of fulfilling her dream. It wasn't until her senior year of high school when an MSU College College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) advisor visited to share about the CAMP program and how it afforded migrant students the chance to make their dreams come true.

In addition to membership in CAMP, she also received an invitation to the Drew Scholars program and the Academic Scholars Program, both offers she jumped on right away, knowing it would be great for her because she has family residing in Michigan. Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her dad went through a medical emergency that hospitalized for over a month. The thought of attending college thousands of miles away, again, seemed too far out of reach and selfish. Yet, her family remained her number one supporters and continued to encourage her to fulfill her goals of going to MSU and to become a physician. Being at MSU now, makes her exceptionally proud of who she is and where she comes from because they are important aspects of who she has is today!

Currently, she is a junior, majoring in Human Biology and minoring in Spanish.  She is also a resident assistant in Rather Hall, the National Representative for MED, an Undergraduate Learning Assistant for BS 172 - Organismal and Populations Laboratory, and a Research Assistant for Strong Beginnings.

As a student, she strives for success in and out of the classroom. Her goal isn't only to maintain a high GPA but to also be involved in extracurriculars and activities that she loves doing and being a part of. After she graduates from MSU, she plans to take that following year to focus on clinical work and volunteerism in underserved communities as she continues her preparations for medical school. She aspires to attend medical school in her home state of Texas and return to her hometown as community-oriented physician specializing in pediatric orthopedics. As a physician, her goal is to create a space where children feel welcomed and comfortable to openly and freely confide in her. 

Karina was selected as a 2022-2023 Natural Science Dean's Research Scholar as result of her stellar application and for her research in the Department of Human Ecology and Child Development. Being a Dean's Research Scholar has given her the opportunity to connect with alumni and other students within the NatSci community who share her love for research and undergraduate student success. This experience has allowed her to hone important skills such as public speaking, professionalism, and interpersonal skills. It has built her confidence as she has taken steps out of her comfort zone to build relationships with new and diverse groups of people of varying backgrounds.

Advice to Peers and Successors

"My advice is to have fun! Yes your goals may require you to spend most of your time studying, but don't let that define you. You are so much more than a grade on a report, so make sure you are doing what makes YOU happy.

Also, get involved with clubs/Panhellenic that cater to YOU and not what you want others to think of you.

Lastly, take pride in your background and who you are!"