Pond's Ponder

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Lady Eleanor Roosevelt:

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”

Try to emulate those with great minds!

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Back to School Extravaganza Recap

The Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences hosted the Back to School Extravaganza last Tuesday, Sept. 3. This event is a celebration of the new semester.

Students met with various student clubs and organizations, ate tacos, enjoyed ice-cream and branded boards with the WTAMU brand and their graduation year.

It is estimated that over 700 students, faculty, staff and families attended.

See More Photos!

Mentorship Program Workshop

Dr. Lance Kieth, Couch Family Professor of Extension Education and Associate Dean of External Relations and Recruiting, hosted the inaugural Mentorship Program for the College's assistant professors and instructors on Friday, Aug. 30.

The Mentorship Program is intended to be an ongoing partnership between tenure track professors and assistant professors, giving more experienced professors the opportunity to mentor new faculty members and promote professional growth.

Research Highlight

Left: Briley Jeter

Right: Miriam Zanovello

Briley Jeter and Miriam Zanovello, M.S. Biology students, each defended their theses on Aug. 6. Their research was part of a larger, ongoing project of Dr. Byer's, Associate Professor of Biology.

They investigated the use of phytochemicals in combination with traditional chemotherapeutics to treat two different types of cancer and evaluated the effect on cell viability and expression of cancer target genes.

Miriam treated ovarian cancer cells with a combination of cisplatin and EGCG, while Briley treated Glioblastoma multiforme with temozolomide and EGCG. Research results showed that their combination treatments increased cell death in cancer cells, but protected healthy control cells from the toxic effects of the cancer drugs alone.

Science Influencer Opportunity

Calling all undergraduate students! The Science Influencers Program from Texas A&M University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is searching for Science Influencers. This yearlong (Jan. 2025 - Dec. 2025) program is an integrated experience for undergraduates to learn about effective communication in science, technology, engineering and math, along with critical skills needed to promote food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences. This is a part of the USDA NIFA Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (REEU) program, which helps students acquire paid internships at research foundations, nationally ranked science and engineering institutions or large communication organizations.

This is a paid position.

Apply Here!

Deadline is Oct. 15th. Selection decisions will be announced by Thanksgiving break.