A Summer of Research, Experience, and Growth

Innovation, discovery, and real-world experience are at the heart of the Trinity University journey.

This approach is why Trinity is nationally-recognized for its commitment to research and special projects, and why, every summer, when class ends, the learning continues. In Summer 2024, an estimated 240 Trinity students have completed some type of internship, research or experiential opportunity, according to Trinity's Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success (CELCS). 

At the University’s annual Summer Undergraduate Research and Internship Symposium at Trinity, held from July 18-19, the full impact of Trinity’s commitment to hands-on opportunity was on display. Here, about 230 students, under the guidance of more than 95 faculty and staff mentors, gathered to celebrate the end of 10 weeks of hands-on learning at the symposium.

At Trinity, these students are supported not only by a rich and robust series of programs, scholarships, grants, and awards from both institutional and prestigious external sources, but also by a dedicated, acclaimed set of faculty mentors that form truly collaborative partnerships thanks to the University’s relatively small size.

Meet some of the students at the symposium, and glimpse their passion for discovery:

Orlando Ventura ‘26
Global Latinx Studies

Ventura conducted research on community building among undocumented Latinx immigrants through his work with American Gateways, a non-profit organization that provides legal services and education about self-representation to this population. 

Ventura, who plans to pursue a law degree, says his summer experience taught him how to work across difficult scenarios, to be a better listener, and gave him the chance to make an impact on a field he cares about. Ventura says he is grateful for his mentor, professor Rita Urquijo-Ruiz, Ph.D., and for Trinity’s Mexico, the Americas and Spain (MAS) Alvarez internship grant, which funded his project.

“Having a resource like MAS is amazing,” Ventura says. “This gives an opportunity to students like me, and gives us a chance to have these kinds of experiences.”

Mahira Nooruddin ’27
Biology and Psychology

In partnership with Biology professor Bethany Strunk, Ph.D., Nooruddin studied a lipid phosphatase whose mutations have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Charcot-Marie Tooth’s Disease.

Nooruddin, who wants to work in medicine, enjoyed the chance to work with Strunk, known among Trinity students for taking a collaborative and supportive approach in her lab. “Dr. Strunk, she's always present to give us guidance, when I have any questions… and she's really open to me bringing my own ideas as to where I think that the research should go.”

Getting direct access to faculty like Strunk was one of Nooruddin’s first priorities in picking a university. “ I was really excited by Trinity being smaller, and in that sense I feel like I get to know my faculty more, and I was more comfortable reaching out to Dr. Stunk and asking her if I could have the opportunity to work in her lab,” she says. “I didn't think I would be into research, but this summer I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed it.”

Alexis Ibarra ’26
Political Science

Ibarra, under the mentorship of Political Science professor Katsuo Nishikawa, Ph.D., analyzed the growth of new political movements in Latin America over the last three decades, examining more than 1,000 political parties and hundreds of elections over that time span.

Ibarra says his work has inspired him to shift from pursuing a law degree towards a Ph.D. track in his field.  “Being able to apply what you learn in the classroom into the outside world is very important to me… because you get to feel if this is something you want to do for the rest of your life.”

With an entire summer of research under his belt, Ibarra is confident in this new vision for his future: “What I really love about Trinity is they really build those steps for you to be able to reach even better programs in graduate school.”

Camille Heidelbaugh ’24 (December graduate)
Engineering Science

Heidelbaugh, under the guidance of Machine Shop Technician Ryan Hodge and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs: Inclusive Excellence Wilson Terrell Jr., Ph.D., spent her summer designing and machining a worm gearbox system using a CNC lathe and mill in Trinity’s MakerSpace, a machine shop available to students of all majors.

As someone who wants to go into the engineering design field, Heidelbaugh appreciates the experience of getting to produce a physical product. But Heidelbaugh also says she’s enjoyed getting to be hands-on in a bunch of different ways at Trinity, not just through her Engineering Science major. “I feel like I've gotten a lot of other opportunities at Trinity. I was able to be in the band. I’ve done research here in Dr. [Emma] Treadway's Lab, working on rehabilitation devices for stroke patients. A lot of times undergrad students don't get to do research because it's mostly with graduate students,” she says. “I just feel like I’ve had a lot more opportunities here than I would've had at another school.”

Robin Gemanaru '26 and Julia Stall '27
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Stall and Gemanaru are part of a team under Biology professor Kelly Lyons that investigated which species of native grasses are most effective in outcompeting invasive grasses when plug-planted.

Stall, who’s considering a major in either Neuroscience or Biology, says she thinks “personally, research is really fun!” And as someone who wants to get her Ph.D. after college, Stall also notes that Trinity gave her “a really nice opportunity with this research, resume-wise, because a lot of people going into grad school, just trying to get jobs, can’t say that they have lab experience. Most people have to decide what they want to major in, just based on the theory of what they'd get to do in grad school. But at Trinity we get to do it now.”

Gemanaru, who also enjoys research, argues that hands-on opportunities are “Trinity's main selling point. Trinity has so many labs out here, and with just 2000 students at our school, we can facilitate so many research opportunities. It's not as hard to get into a lab here, and I would say the research being done here is even more interesting than at other schools.”
 

Olivia Walshak ’25
Environmental Studies

Walshak, through an internship with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) this summer, advocated for the protection and preservation of the Edwards Aquifer, and in turn promoted sustainable land and water management.

This internship was supported by Trinity’s unique Arts, Letters and Enterprise program, which places Trinity students with nonprofits that would otherwise be unable to hire summer interns. So, Walshak was able to make a big impact on GEAA, which has only six employees, but a big mission.

“I think ALE is an incredible program that allows students these types of opportunities

to work for organizations that they're really passionate about,” she says. 

And Walshak’s Trinity experience proved a perfect fit for her internship: “I was honestly pretty shocked at how well the policy class I’d taken at Trinity earlier this spring translated into this internship. So it was just nice to already be a little bit familiar with the work, and I was able to do the same thing in my internship.”

Ryan Kyle ’25, Khoi Tran ’26, and Faysal Al-Zand ’24
Marketing-Computer Science-English

This trio of entrepreneurs spent their summer honing their business product, the Powerlifting Depth Checker, which aims to assist powerlifters using biometric data from a unique device that allows users to use their smartphones to measure the speed and depth of their squats.

As part of Trinity Entrepreneurship’s Summer Accelerator Program, the team got to spend their summer working for the best boss of all: themselves.

“It was really insightful to work on your own business, while at the same time having the mentorship of both the professors and the mentors that Trinity brought in for us, Kyle says. “When you're working on something that you're actually involved in and care about, it's a lot more interesting and engaging.”

Tran, the software developer for the team, says he appreciated the chance to get real-world experience building a product from the ground up. “This experience has given me insight on how building apps work as a developer. And it’s also taught me about being my own boss, and getting the decision of how I want to implement the technology.”

Faisal says he appreciates the resources Trinity provides for its entrepreneurs during the accelerator: “Every week, our program brings experts in very specific fields, like tax experts, and public relations experts. They would give us really specific advice on how to manage the business,” he says. “A lot of it was things that we could implement straight away. Just having that expertise there and just being able to talk with them, that was helpful.”