CURCA ambassadors share insight, experience

There are five University of North Georgia (UNG) students and an alumna offering their personal experience and tips to students curious about undergraduate research and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA).

"The idea behind the CURCA ambassadors program is that we would frequently get students asking us for examples of successful submissions, or students who were too intimidated to ask a professor directly about us. So we created it so that students could reach out to other students who have been successful," Dr. Diogo Pinheiro, assistant director of CURCA, said.

Although all are qualified to discuss all aspects of CURCA, ambassadors will have a certain area of focus. The group has its own website, including contact information for the ambassadors.

Four currently work at the Gainesville Campus:

• Tracy Amaya '24, focuses primarily on student travel grants.
• Benjamin Hughes, who is pursuing a nursing degree, can provide insights on student-faculty collaborative mini-grants.
• Jessica Kimari, who is pursuing a degree in psychology, also focuses on student-faculty collaborative mini-grants.
• Alec Reeb, who is pursuing an environmental spatial analysis degree, is focused on student travel grants and the Annual Research Conference.

Two ambassadors are based at the Dahlonega Campus:

• Ryan Lambert, also pursuing a degree in psychology, focuses on student travel grants, student faculty collaborative mini-grants and Faculty Undergraduate Summer Engagement (FUSE) grants.
• Tyler Simpson, who is pursuing a degree in biology, provides insights on student travel grants, student-faculty collaborative mini-grants, the Annual Research Conference, and FUSE grants.

Amaya received a CURCA travel grant to attend the Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference at Emory University, where she presented her research that focused on debunking common misconceptions Americans have regarding immigration. She has a Bachelor of Science in political science with a pre-law concentration.

"I chose to become a CURCA ambassador because participating in my first conference was an incredibly rewarding experience for me, and one that I couldn't have done without applying for a CURCA travel grant," she said. "I hope that by being a CURCA ambassador I am able to motivate current students to apply for CURCA grants."

For Lambert, a senior, it was the grant application experience that convinced him to become an ambassador.

"I felt that becoming a CURCA ambassador was a great opportunity for me to spread what has helped me in my application process to other students who are applying for the same things as I have (FUSE, mini-grants, travel grants," he said. "Writing for grants can be very tricky and unnerving for someone who hasn't been through that experience. It's especially daunting knowing that you might not be able to work on your research without that funding. As a CURCA ambassador, I hope to guide my peers through the application process to make it more manageable."

Lambert highly encourages others to become an ambassador.

"On a very basic level, it's a great point to have on a CV; it shows that you have been successful in applying for grants and are fundamentally collaborative, and both of those traits are crucial for students who want to attend grad school," the Alpharetta, Georgia, resident said. "It gives you more experience with helping people and knowing how to work with your peers toward a mutual goal. It also helps as you apply for more grants, as you will become well-known within the CURCA program. While the reviewing process for grant applications is blinded, being involved with the program offers you many opportunities for guidance with grants, scholarships, grad school applications, and much more."

Lambert is pursuing a degree in psychology with minors in neuroscience and biology.

CURCA is committed to supporting faculty and students in their intellectual and creative pursuits.

It provides faculty and students with:

• Mentorship throughout their research and creative activities.
• Funding for research and creative projects.
• Recognition for faculty and students engaging in research.
• Ways of publicizing and disseminating research accomplishments.