For many Iowa State undergraduate students an internship is required for graduation. One student took that requirement as an opportunity to research at a nationally recognized scientific laboratory.

Gretchen Mapel, junior in agricultural zoology, received a grant from the National Science Foundation through its Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program last spring. With the grant came the opportunity to do an internship at the Whitney Laboratory in Maineland, Fla.

“Our research is in biology, using marine invertebrates,” said Maureen Welch, public information officer for the Whitney Laboratory.

“Most of our research is biomedical or in biotechnology; it benefits the areas of medicine and human health.”

The REU program offers students an opportunity for hands-on research, she said.

“It gives a chance to college kids who may be drawn to the sciences to have experience at the bench of scientific research,” Welch said.

Mapel said she researched the biochemical processes behind vision in the horseshoe crab. The Whitney Laboratory is a research institute of the University of Florida.

“It gives you a look into what kind of things you can do and whether you’d be happy doing them,” she said.

Working at the lab can also be a stepping stone for students, Mapel said.

“The work the kids do is often published as part of a scientist’s ongoing project,” Welch said. “The national REU program also looks at these summer programs as a recruitment tool for the field.”

Mapel said the internship helped her define her future.

“I would definitely recommend it to anyone,” she said.

Laura Valenziano, junior in psychology and Mapel’s classmate said, “She likes the challenge, and she is very, very dedicated. She is one of the most dedicated individuals I know.”

Charles Drewes, Mapel’s advisor, said Mapel takes risks to succeed.

“[Gretchen’s] own initiative to venture off the beaten path, to look beyond opportunities that exist here on campus made [her] a good candidate,” said Drewes, professor of zoology and genetics.

“I wish that all students would take the initiative that Gretchen did to discover and take advantage of opportunities,” said Drewes.