Summer of Discovery

Central State University Students Turn Internship, Research Opportunities into Life-Changing Experiences

What happens when classroom learning meets real-world research? For more than two dozen Central State University students, the answer was a summer filled with discovery, innovation, and career-defining experiences. From research labs and innovation centers to farms and field sites across the country, students tackled challenges in pollinator and soil health, water quality, precision agriculture, machine learning, and emerging technologies while working alongside leading scientists and faculty mentors.  

These hands-on opportunities, offered through Central State University and partner institutions such as Purdue University, Ohio State University, Colorado State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Minnesota, the University of Missouri, the University of Illinois, and Penn State University, exemplify the transformative power of experiential learning. In the pages that follow, students reflect on the lessons, discoveries, and experiences that are helping shape the next generation of agricultural and STEM leaders. 

Some of the students' reflections will be shared on this space in the coming weeks.

"My experience strengthened my interest in agricultural research"

"My experience strengthened my interest in agricultural research and showed me how science can contribute to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems....The internship also helped me become more confident as a scientist." 

Student's full name: Heaven Strachan 

Major: Sustainable Agriculture (Minor: Biology) 

Classification: Senior 

Project site: Harpur Bee Lab, Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 

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A short summary of internship/research project: 
As a paid Undergraduate Summer Research intern (June 1 to July 30, 2026), Heaven worked in the Harpur Bee Lab at Purdue University, gaining hands-on experience with honeybee behavior, genetics, and colony health. She assisted with bee observations, data collection, and maintaining accurate research records, and learned how to work with research datasets and use behavioral observations to answer scientific questions. She built practical laboratory and field research skills while working alongside graduate students and researchers. 

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Summary of life lessons learned: 

"This internship taught me the importance of patience, consistency, attention to detail, and being willing to learn. Research does not always produce immediate answers, so I learned how important it is to remain persistent and adaptable when things do not go as expected....

Most importantly, the experience showed me that research can be a powerful tool for addressing real-world agricultural and environmental challenges.

Summary of how the experience will shape future career goals:

"My experience strengthened my interest in agricultural research and showed me how science can contribute to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. ... The internship also helped me become more confident as a scientist. ... This experience has encouraged me to continue pursuing research opportunities and graduate school. It also brought me closer to my long-term goal of using agriculture and research to contribute to healthier and more sustainable food systems." 

List of mentoring professors and their institutions: 

• Dr. Brock Harpur, Purdue University 
• Izaak Gilchrist, entomology student, Purdue University 
• Dr. Hongmei Li-Byarlay, Central State University

"Even though my major is Psychology and my minor is Exercise Science, this internship gave me experience that I can use in both areas"

"Even though my major is Psychology and my minor is Exercise Science, this internship gave me experience that I can use in both areas. ... These are skills that can be useful in psychology and exercise science, especially because both fields involve working with people, collecting information, and understanding research. The experience also gave me a better understanding of how research can be used to answer questions and solve real-world problems." 

Student's full name: Henricus Maycock 

Major: Psychology (Minor: Exercise Science) 

Classification: Junior 

Project site: Central State University's John W. Garland College of Engineering, Science, Technology, and Agriculture 

A short summary of internship/research project: 
As a paid Undergraduate Hemp Research Assistant (June 1 to August 15, 2026), Henricus worked on the Sushi Project, which aims to make aquaculture more sustainable by testing whether hemp seeds can replace fish meal and fish oil in fish feed. He helped harvest and thresh the hemp, winnow the seeds, separate clean seeds from unwanted plant material, and prepare samples for laboratory analysis. He did not run the lab tests himself, but his work gave researchers the clean, properly prepared samples they needed for accurate results. 

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Summary of life lessons learned: 

"One of the biggest things I learned from this internship was that you have to be patient and pay attention to the small details. Even though some of the tasks seemed simple, like threshing and winnowing the hemp, I learned that doing each step correctly matters because it affects the quality of the samples. 

"I also learned how important teamwork and communication are when working with other people." 

Summary of how the experience will shape future career goals: 

"Even though my major is Psychology and my minor is Exercise Science, this internship gave me experience that I can use in both areas. ... These are skills that can be useful in psychology and exercise science, especially because both fields involve working with people, collecting information, and understanding research. The experience also gave me a better understanding of how research can be used to answer questions and solve real-world problems." 

List of mentoring professors and their institutions: 

• Dr. Craig Schluttenhofer, Central State University 
• Chantinae Gray, Central State University graduate
• Postdoctorate Researcher Shadab Panahi, Central State University