The Gatton Academy's Internship Experiences
Apirada Chetawatee (’21, Murray HS) worked with Dr. Jeffrey Galloway, WKU Computer Science Department, on utilizing XR technology for business trainings.
Matthew Johnson (’20, Oldham Co. HS) worked with Dr. Rachel Tinius, WKU Exercise Science Department, on the impact of obesity on fetal growth.
Elvin Irihamye (’19, Paul L. Dunbar HS) worked with Dr. Michael Smith, WKU Biology Department, on microarray analysis of cancer lines.
Kareena Pansuria (’23, South Warren HS) worked with Dr. Benjamin McDonald, Brown University Chemistry Department, on developing an underwater polymer.
Divya Naidugari (’23, Randall K. Cooper HS) worked with Dr. Sarah Millar, Icahn Mount Sinai School of Medicine, on follicle regeneration
Hannah Laney (’23, Paul G. Blazer, Regeneron Top 300 Scholar) worked with Dr. Jasminka Terzic, WKU Physics Department, synthesizing 4D and 5D transition metal oxides.
Caden Lucas (’23, Breckinridge Co. HS), worked as a community liaison for Representative Brett Guthrie.
Evie Dukes (’21, McCracken Co. HS) spent the 2020-21 academic year studying the success of different combinations of tree species in reforestation efforts at Cloudbridge Nature Reserve in Costa Rica.
The Gatton Academy promotes optional summer internship and research experiences to each of our students. Through summer programs, students are able to explore possible career frontiers to better refine their interests within STEM fields. Internship and research opportunities range in duration from a few weeks to all summer long and may be paid or unpaid. Gatton’s Academic Opportunities Coordinator works directly with students helping them identify possible internships, navigate the applications, and edit required essays. Students can research their options through our comprehensive list, or they can pursue some of our already established opportunities identified below.
The Gatton Research Internship Grant (RIG) program was created in 2010 through a gift from Mr. Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton. The RIG program offers grants of up to $3200 to Gatton Academy students between their junior and senior years to support summer research internships at WKU, across the Commonwealth, the USA, and the world. By providing funding, the program directly creates research internships that otherwise would not have existed for Gatton Academy students. Past students have used their internships as a springboard to later apply for prestigious awards such as the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Goldwater Scholarship. Many recipients submit their work for peer-reviewed publication and for conference presentations.
Gatton is constantly reaching out to its community partners in order to find experiences that will build the skillsets our students need once they leave Gatton. Our sponsors below continue to support Gatton through reoccurring summer internships that let our students conduct research on cancer lines (Wood Hudson), develop technology that locates coal and oil deposits (Carlson), or detect the levels of radon in caves (Mammoth Cave). The possibilities are infinite through these vital relationships.
Gatton students have the opportunity to not only explore their STEM interests at WKU, but also at universities across the Commonwealth and the U.S.
Although our curriculum is STEM-focused, many Gatton students take the summer to enhance their non-STEM interests. The below are some of the most popular for our students. In addition, we also offer our study abroad trip to Harlaxton, England each summer.
Internship Questions?
Cheryl Kirby-Stokes
Academic Opportunities Coordinator
270-745-3613
cheryl.kirby-stokes@wku.edu
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