How Regent Honors Students Are Finding Success Beyond the Classroom
Abigail Lindner has always been good with numbers—but after earning a highly competitive spot on an eight-week research experience last summer, she’s discovered a new passion: research.
“This Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) was my first exposure to ‘real’ math research, and it delighted me,” says Linder (CAS ’21), who just graduated with her B.S. in Mathematics.
Linder worked on an applied math team with the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, studying agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and its impact on the economy and human development in the area.
That experience, coupled with her time as an Honors student at Regent, helped inform her decision for a career in applied mathematics research.
“I gained an appreciation for how complicated data analysis can be,” says Linder.
Fellow Honors student and mathematics graduate Allison Hodgkins (CAS ’21) also earned a coveted research spot doing computational research with Virginia Commonwealth University.
“We created a novel mathematical model of the Guinea Worm Disease that explains the reoccurrence of the disease along the Chari River in Chad,” she explains.
For Hodgkins, the experience was a natural stepping-stone from her Regent Honors classes, which she credits with helping prepare her for success.
Finding creative solutions to world problems, however, isn’t just for these talented mathematics grads.
Most recently, Honors student and business major Cassandra Hansen (CAS ’21) led Regent’s Enactus team to a second-place win in their league at the Enactus United States National Exposition for their lifesaving project “Healthy League.”
“Enactus is a campus club, internship opportunity, and entrepreneurial start-up all rolled into one,” says Dr. Brian Baugus, associate professor of economics in the Department of Business, Leadership & Management for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Hansen served as Regent’s Enactus project manager for the award-winning project, which focused on a preventative hookworm initiative in Haiti. The award is Regent’s best showing in their 23-year history of the expo, and the first time the school’s Enactus team won prize money at the national level.
Want to read more success stories of Regent graduates and fellow world changers? Visit regentalumni.org to get the latest updates, alumni resources, and more.
