Image: On Tuesday, June 18th, eight graduate students from the Microbiology Department worked with Dr. Anna Karls (Associate Professor of Microbiology) to provide a hands-on microbiology lab experience for African American and Hispanic middle- and high-school students who are members of Girls Inc, a national organization encouraging girls to achieve academically and discover an interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Microbiology graduate students Crystal Austin, Hannah Bullock, Kristy Hentchel, Mark Jones, Hank Kimbrough, Angela Pack, Julie Stoudenmire, and Chelsey VanDrisse volunteered to introduce the visiting students to aspects of applied and basic microbiology. This summer pre-collegiate leadership program is run by the Fanning Institute for Leadership Development as part of the Public Service and Outreach programs at UGA. Dr. Karls and the Microbiology graduate students hosted a session entitled, "Isolation and Identification of Microbes that Can Generate Biofuels". The session was designed to provide the participants with a hands-on microbiology laboratory experience and give them an idea of what it was like to take a college-level laboratory class.
