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news
Science student
finds money in fungus
By Alisha Gomez
On-line Forty-Niner
Being a science
major is not easy. But if you are Sarah Benson, science is
what you do best.
A junior microbiology major, 20-year-old Benson has always
liked science.
"I don't like to write so English or history were not
an option for me," Benson said. "It is interesting
to find out how things work."
Benson, who hails from Pleasanton, a suburb in Northern California,
won a $250 award for a research project she did on Inositol
Transport in Cryptococcus Neoformans. Basically, Benson followed
the sequence of a particular gene in a fungus. The gene, Inositol,
is a transporter that moves sugar around into a cell.
It all began with a program called MARC designed to help minorities
do research in science. It is like a job because members get
an $831 stipend a month. Lisa Klig, a professor in biology,
assigned Benson the Inositol topic.
"Every year a conference is held called the Annual Biology
Medical Research conference for minority students," Benson
said, referring to the fact that by being in MARC, the conference
is a requirement. She knew that eventually she would have
to put a presentation together and attend this conference.
However, Benson did not think she would walk away with an
award.
"It was a huge surprise that I won," she said. Benson
was one of the few winners in her science division.
She called her project an ongoing process.
"The judges understand that the project is not finished,"
Benson said. "They judge you more on how well you can
answer their questions, how well you know what's going on
[with your project] and the theory behind it."
Benson has been sought out by other groups and awards. The
MARC program sent her literature and she just applied and
joined. CSULB sent her literature on being applying for to
be a President's Scholar and now she is here.
"[The scholarship] was a big factor why I chose CSULB,"
Benson said. "Plus, CSULB was in California and I like
California." For Benson, California is home; after all
she grew up here. She likes the weather in Long Beach as well
as being close to the beach.
"We don't get that where I live," she said, referring
to the beaches and nice weather.
A National Merit Scholar at her high school, Amador Valley
in Pleasanton, Benson has had to maintain her GPA for the
MARC program and as a President's Scholar. She helps out the
housing office as part of her duties as a President's Scholar
and participates in different service activities on campus.
One of these includes going back to her high school and talking
to students about choosing to attend CSULB.
Benson is minoring in chemistry, not by choice though. She
said that being a microbiology major requires so many chemistry
classes that the minor comes almost automatically.
Her interest in science came completely on her own. Her brother
is a computer science major at Cal Poly Pomona and her parents'
work is unrelated to science.
Benson plans on attending graduate school when she is done
at CSULB.
"Grad schools want people who have undergrad work,"
Benson said about her being the MARC program. She has also
worked as a lab technician at the Los Angeles County Sanitation
District, where she tested samples of reclaimed water to make
sure it was clean.
When she is not busy she likes to spend time with her friends.
She also plays tennis occasionally, something she did as a
sport in high school. Her favorite book is the "Lord
of the Rings" trilogy and her favorite movie is "Ferris
Bueller's Day Off."
She is looking into grad school at UC San Diego and New York
University.
"I am not afraid to go to New York," Benson said
about the events that have taken place there. "I like
it. I'd go there in a second."
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