EHS/Lady Minutemen Alum Jendai E. Robinson ('08) Shares Research Advancements At NOBCChe
2nd Year PHd Student At The University Of Cincinnati Shares Her Love Of Chemistry and Engineering
Jendai E. Robinson has
always been a tinkerer. From a young age, she would spend time at the auto shop
where her dad worked. She’d watch him take engines apart and electroplate car
parts. He’d watch her test radios and set up circuits to pinpoint dead headlights.
“Without telling me, he had me doing physics at age seven,” she recalls.
Now a second-year chemistry Ph.D. student at the University of Cincinnati, Robinson still tinkers with chemistry and physics but on a smaller scale. With the financial support of the National Aeronautic & Space Administration’s Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship, she works in the lab to fabricate carbon nanofibers for biosensing applications. Her tinkering skills have even earned her internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
This September in New Orleans, Robinson got to share her enthusiasm for science with fellow chemists at the 41st annual meeting of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE, pronounced no-buh-shay). She presented a poster on her nanofiber research at the meeting, which featured attractions such as a career fair, technical sessions, a science fair and bowl for young students, and talks from several prominent black scientists.
Robinson is no stranger to NOBCChE. She attended her first meeting in 2010 and was excited to come back this year to present the research she’s done with NASA and the University of Cincinnati. “What’s different about NOBCChE compared with other conferences is its size—it’s more intimate,” she said. “At big conferences, people fly by your poster. Here, they actually stop to ask about you and your research.”
That intimacy—that sense of the “NOBCChE family,” as many call it—keeps people returning each year and helps students build connections and confidence.
“For me, it keeps getting better and better,” said Keturah A. Odoi, a sixth-year chemistry Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University who was back for her third meeting. During her first go-round at NOBCChE, she knew no one outside of her research group (C&EN, Nov. 5, 2012, page 37). This year, she went to New Orleans to reconnect with acquaintances and to accept the E. I. DuPont Fellowship award for her research on cancer epigenetic regulations in histones.
“The first time I came here, I went back to school inspired to do more. It’s a refueling process,” she said. “You hear people’s success stories, and you go back ready to spend the hours to achieve that goal.”
Fostering budding career scientists like Robinson and Odoi is one of the key reasons NOBCChE was founded and why it continues to exist: to provide networking opportunities for black chemists and chemical engineers and to encourage minority students to forge careers in the sciences. Now in its 41st year, the meeting is so successful, it had to add an extra day of student poster presentations to accommodate its growing popularity: This year the meeting and STEM weekend events hosted 750 attendees.
All of these eager students were greeted by NOBCChE vice president and conference chair Talitha Hampton-Mayo, who announced this year’s motto, “No Imitation, Only Innovation,” to reflect the conference theme of entrepreneurship. “Where we’re headed as a world, we’re not going to be doing business the same way,” Hampton-Mayo said. “We’re doing more with less, and certain jobs are never coming back.” On the bright side, she said, losing some of these jobs may force scientists to create entrepreneurial opportunities elsewhere. HONORIFIC ATTIRE
NOBCChE President Haynes (far left) and Vice Pre Hampton-Mayo has always been interested in entrepreneurship, but in school, she steered away from the business side of science because she had no idea where to begin. “I always thought I would run a business, but I was never told how,” she said. “The earlier we expose students to the fact that they can do it, the better.”
Students with entrepreneurial aspirations were surrounded by role models at the meeting. The Winifred Burks-Houck Professional Leadership lecture was given by Noreen Khan-Mayberry. She is the first woman and first person of color to work as a NASA space toxicologist, protecting crews from exposure to toxic substances in extraterrestrial environments. She has also started several businesses, including one to educate the public about toxic hazards. In her lecture, she stressed the importance of science majors taking business classes.
To further this entrepreneurial sentiment and help attendees connect, NOBCChE put on men’s and women’s networking receptions. The women heard from NaShara Mitchell, an assistant dean at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and founder of cosmetics line Ready to Blush. “Behind every single idea, you must believe in it and work to make it happen. It’s not just going to happen,” she told the crowd. “It’s a matter of making things happen and being very forceful.”
Also speaking during the women’s networking session were Tiffani Bailey Lash and Tashni-Ann Dubroy, cofounders of a product line for ethnic hair. They also led an entrepreneurship workshop during NOBCChE’s first science café (see sidebar).
All attendees gathered to listen to a lecture from Cato T. Laurencin, this year’s winner of NOBCChE’s most prestigious honor, the Percy L. Julian Award. Laurencin is an engineer and orthopedic surgeon at the University of Connecticut who is blazing trails in the field of regenerative engineering. As a researcher and ringside doctor for boxers, Laurencin stressed the need to be versatile in plotting a career path by quoting both Darwin (“it’s not the strongest of species that survives, it’s the one that’s most adaptable”) and Mike Tyson (“everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face”).
“Challenges should always be seen as opportunities,” Laurencin said. “The greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity.” He talked about his “big, hairy, audacious goal” of engineering bone outside of the body—an idea many found laughable at first but that’s now a working reality. He stressed not giving into doubters and seeing stumbling blocks as part of the journey.
Many students returning to NOBCChE each year see their networks—and, in turn, their confidence—growing.
“One thing that changed from my first NOBCChE to now is maturity. Now, I’m more confident,” Robinson said.
With this confidence, Robinson chatted easily with NOBCChE President Judson L. Haynes III, who also lives in Cincinnati. Despite just meeting, they are now working together to start a NOBCChE chapter in the city. “That was all spurred just at this meeting, so it’s been a very fulfilling experience so far,” Robinson said.
Texas A&M’s Odoi boosted her own self-esteem by applying for the DuPont Fellowship award—and winning it.
“Sometimes, you have this nagging idea that you’re not good enough and other people are better,” she said. “I now realize that you don’t have to wait for others to see potential in you.”
Even Hampton-Mayo was supported by NOBCChE when she felt alone as a minority student in chemical engineering. “A network of people to support me gave me the push I needed to keep going,” she recalled.
Robinson said having this NOBCChE science family as well as her own family to support her has been critical. She now realizes that tinkering in her father’s auto shop sparked her curiosity in the sciences. She called her dad from the NOBCChE conference to let him know what that meant to her.
“Even though he’s not a chemist and he’s not a big-name person,” she said, “I was still doing science back then, and it still carries me to this day.”
The next NOBCChE conference will be held Sept. 22–25, 2015, in Orlando.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2014 American Chemical Society
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Now a second-year chemistry Ph.D. student at the University of Cincinnati, Robinson still tinkers with chemistry and physics but on a smaller scale. With the financial support of the National Aeronautic & Space Administration’s Harriett G. Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship, she works in the lab to fabricate carbon nanofibers for biosensing applications. Her tinkering skills have even earned her internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
This September in New Orleans, Robinson got to share her enthusiasm for science with fellow chemists at the 41st annual meeting of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE, pronounced no-buh-shay). She presented a poster on her nanofiber research at the meeting, which featured attractions such as a career fair, technical sessions, a science fair and bowl for young students, and talks from several prominent black scientists.
Robinson is no stranger to NOBCChE. She attended her first meeting in 2010 and was excited to come back this year to present the research she’s done with NASA and the University of Cincinnati. “What’s different about NOBCChE compared with other conferences is its size—it’s more intimate,” she said. “At big conferences, people fly by your poster. Here, they actually stop to ask about you and your research.”
That intimacy—that sense of the “NOBCChE family,” as many call it—keeps people returning each year and helps students build connections and confidence.
“For me, it keeps getting better and better,” said Keturah A. Odoi, a sixth-year chemistry Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University who was back for her third meeting. During her first go-round at NOBCChE, she knew no one outside of her research group (C&EN, Nov. 5, 2012, page 37). This year, she went to New Orleans to reconnect with acquaintances and to accept the E. I. DuPont Fellowship award for her research on cancer epigenetic regulations in histones.
“The first time I came here, I went back to school inspired to do more. It’s a refueling process,” she said. “You hear people’s success stories, and you go back ready to spend the hours to achieve that goal.”
Fostering budding career scientists like Robinson and Odoi is one of the key reasons NOBCChE was founded and why it continues to exist: to provide networking opportunities for black chemists and chemical engineers and to encourage minority students to forge careers in the sciences. Now in its 41st year, the meeting is so successful, it had to add an extra day of student poster presentations to accommodate its growing popularity: This year the meeting and STEM weekend events hosted 750 attendees.
All of these eager students were greeted by NOBCChE vice president and conference chair Talitha Hampton-Mayo, who announced this year’s motto, “No Imitation, Only Innovation,” to reflect the conference theme of entrepreneurship. “Where we’re headed as a world, we’re not going to be doing business the same way,” Hampton-Mayo said. “We’re doing more with less, and certain jobs are never coming back.” On the bright side, she said, losing some of these jobs may force scientists to create entrepreneurial opportunities elsewhere. HONORIFIC ATTIRE
NOBCChE President Haynes (far left) and Vice Pre Hampton-Mayo has always been interested in entrepreneurship, but in school, she steered away from the business side of science because she had no idea where to begin. “I always thought I would run a business, but I was never told how,” she said. “The earlier we expose students to the fact that they can do it, the better.”
Students with entrepreneurial aspirations were surrounded by role models at the meeting. The Winifred Burks-Houck Professional Leadership lecture was given by Noreen Khan-Mayberry. She is the first woman and first person of color to work as a NASA space toxicologist, protecting crews from exposure to toxic substances in extraterrestrial environments. She has also started several businesses, including one to educate the public about toxic hazards. In her lecture, she stressed the importance of science majors taking business classes.
To further this entrepreneurial sentiment and help attendees connect, NOBCChE put on men’s and women’s networking receptions. The women heard from NaShara Mitchell, an assistant dean at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and founder of cosmetics line Ready to Blush. “Behind every single idea, you must believe in it and work to make it happen. It’s not just going to happen,” she told the crowd. “It’s a matter of making things happen and being very forceful.”
Also speaking during the women’s networking session were Tiffani Bailey Lash and Tashni-Ann Dubroy, cofounders of a product line for ethnic hair. They also led an entrepreneurship workshop during NOBCChE’s first science café (see sidebar).
All attendees gathered to listen to a lecture from Cato T. Laurencin, this year’s winner of NOBCChE’s most prestigious honor, the Percy L. Julian Award. Laurencin is an engineer and orthopedic surgeon at the University of Connecticut who is blazing trails in the field of regenerative engineering. As a researcher and ringside doctor for boxers, Laurencin stressed the need to be versatile in plotting a career path by quoting both Darwin (“it’s not the strongest of species that survives, it’s the one that’s most adaptable”) and Mike Tyson (“everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face”).
“Challenges should always be seen as opportunities,” Laurencin said. “The greater the challenge, the greater the opportunity.” He talked about his “big, hairy, audacious goal” of engineering bone outside of the body—an idea many found laughable at first but that’s now a working reality. He stressed not giving into doubters and seeing stumbling blocks as part of the journey.
Many students returning to NOBCChE each year see their networks—and, in turn, their confidence—growing.
“One thing that changed from my first NOBCChE to now is maturity. Now, I’m more confident,” Robinson said.
With this confidence, Robinson chatted easily with NOBCChE President Judson L. Haynes III, who also lives in Cincinnati. Despite just meeting, they are now working together to start a NOBCChE chapter in the city. “That was all spurred just at this meeting, so it’s been a very fulfilling experience so far,” Robinson said.
Texas A&M’s Odoi boosted her own self-esteem by applying for the DuPont Fellowship award—and winning it.
“Sometimes, you have this nagging idea that you’re not good enough and other people are better,” she said. “I now realize that you don’t have to wait for others to see potential in you.”
Even Hampton-Mayo was supported by NOBCChE when she felt alone as a minority student in chemical engineering. “A network of people to support me gave me the push I needed to keep going,” she recalled.
Robinson said having this NOBCChE science family as well as her own family to support her has been critical. She now realizes that tinkering in her father’s auto shop sparked her curiosity in the sciences. She called her dad from the NOBCChE conference to let him know what that meant to her.
“Even though he’s not a chemist and he’s not a big-name person,” she said, “I was still doing science back then, and it still carries me to this day.”
The next NOBCChE conference will be held Sept. 22–25, 2015, in Orlando.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2014 American Chemical Society
********************************************************************************
Lady Minutemen Post Personal Bests
At Union County Championships
October 24th, Elizabeth - Once again, the Lady Minutemen were led by the 1-2 "punch" of juniors Chantel Monegro (24:28) and Waad Sayed (24:34) at the 2014 Union County Championships at Warinanco Park. Seniors Christiana Limage (26:38) and Gabrielle Gilbert (26:58) ducked under the 27:00 for the first time on the Warinanco Park course. Freshman Destinee Everett also nipped the 27-minute barrier with a new personal best mark of 26:59.
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New "Big 3" Lead Minutemen Against Union
September 30th, Elizabeth - The Lady Minutemen towed the line against a gritty and talented Union squad. Once again, the scoring was led by #1 runner and junior Chantel Monegro. Her 24:21 dragged another pair of juniors across the finish line. Waad Sayed (24:35) and Cinthia Garcia (24:40) also produced sub-25:00 performances.
A monster personal best was turned in by 1st year senior Christiana Limage. Her 26:42 was 1:27 faster than the 28:09 run on this course two weeks ago.
The remaining scorers were Naika Janvier (27:26PR), Destinee Everett (28:17PR), and Laura Banegas (28:26PR).
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A monster personal best was turned in by 1st year senior Christiana Limage. Her 26:42 was 1:27 faster than the 28:09 run on this course two weeks ago.
The remaining scorers were Naika Janvier (27:26PR), Destinee Everett (28:17PR), and Laura Banegas (28:26PR).
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First To Sub-24:00
Monegro Leads Lady Minutemen With New Personal
Best vs. Westfield/Plainfield
September 23rd, Elizabeth - At the beginning of the season, athletes were instructed to list a reasonable performance goal that they could each attain by season's end. Chantel Monegro gauged that if she worked hard enough, she might be able to eclipse the 24:00 minute barrier. Let's just say that she needs a new goal after posting a personal best 23:53 at the Westfield/Plainfield dual meet on Tuesday.
Chantel credits more efficient pacing and working the hills more aggressively as the secret to her recent improvements. I'm sure Chantel has her eyes set on breaking 23:00...
Monster personal bests were also turned in by juniors Waad Sayed and Cynthia Garcia. Waad lopped a mind-boggling 1:30 from her previous personal best with a respectable 24:10. Garcia shaved 36 more seconds off of her previous top performance with a 25:10.
The remainder of the scoring was done by Naika Janvier (28:32) and Destinee Everett (28:22PR).
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Chantel credits more efficient pacing and working the hills more aggressively as the secret to her recent improvements. I'm sure Chantel has her eyes set on breaking 23:00...
Monster personal bests were also turned in by juniors Waad Sayed and Cynthia Garcia. Waad lopped a mind-boggling 1:30 from her previous personal best with a respectable 24:10. Garcia shaved 36 more seconds off of her previous top performance with a 25:10.
The remainder of the scoring was done by Naika Janvier (28:32) and Destinee Everett (28:22PR).
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Garcia Returns To Action; Posts First Sub-26:00 Race
To Pace Lady Minutemen In Jamesburg
September 20th, Jamesburg - Tis' the season to catch a cold! The change in weather has sacked the Lady Minutemen like an all-pro linebacker. Coughs, sniffles, and sneezes are running repeats, intervals, and tempos all throughout our program, yet it could not deter EHS from towing the line at the Thompson Park Class Meet in Jamesburg, NJ.
Junior Cinthia Garcia, MIA at Tuesday's dual meet due to illness, got back to business with a nifty 25:46PR in her first try on the state championship 5K course. More impressive was the fact that Cinthia competed without running spikes. Cinthia's mark logged in as the #8 performance on the EHS All-Time List for the Jamesburg course. Fellow junior Waad Sayed maintained her high level of consistency by finishing #2 for the Lady Minutemen in a near personal best 25:47. Her performance established her as the #9 runner all-time on that course. Also scoring in the junior race were Chantel Monegro (26:42), Naika Janvier (27:44PR), and Laura Banegas (30:06PR).
Senior teammates Gabrielle Gilbert (26:38PR) and Christiana Limage (27:06PR) posted monster personal bests despite fighting illness and muggy weather conditions. Gabby sliced 55 seconds from her previous best mark, while Christiana lopped a whopping 1:22 from her all-time 5k best.
Lone freshman Destinee Everett finished off the daily competition with a 21:26PR in the 2.5 mile short course race.
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Junior Cinthia Garcia, MIA at Tuesday's dual meet due to illness, got back to business with a nifty 25:46PR in her first try on the state championship 5K course. More impressive was the fact that Cinthia competed without running spikes. Cinthia's mark logged in as the #8 performance on the EHS All-Time List for the Jamesburg course. Fellow junior Waad Sayed maintained her high level of consistency by finishing #2 for the Lady Minutemen in a near personal best 25:47. Her performance established her as the #9 runner all-time on that course. Also scoring in the junior race were Chantel Monegro (26:42), Naika Janvier (27:44PR), and Laura Banegas (30:06PR).
Senior teammates Gabrielle Gilbert (26:38PR) and Christiana Limage (27:06PR) posted monster personal bests despite fighting illness and muggy weather conditions. Gabby sliced 55 seconds from her previous best mark, while Christiana lopped a whopping 1:22 from her all-time 5k best.
Lone freshman Destinee Everett finished off the daily competition with a 21:26PR in the 2.5 mile short course race.
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Monegro Scares The 25:00 Barrier; Lady Minutemen
Impress Against Linden
September 16th, Elizabeth - The Lady Minutemen opened their conference season in fine fashion by outdistancing the Linden girls' XC team over the 3.1 course at Warinanco Park.
Chantel Monegro logged in her first ever victory with a personal best 25:10. Junior Waad Sayed followed her across the line in 2nd place in a personal best 25:40. The rest of the scoring concluded with Gabrielle Gilbert (27:48), Naika Janvier (27:55PR), Christiana Limage (28:09PR), and freshman Destinee Everett (29:32PR).
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Chantel Monegro logged in her first ever victory with a personal best 25:10. Junior Waad Sayed followed her across the line in 2nd place in a personal best 25:40. The rest of the scoring concluded with Gabrielle Gilbert (27:48), Naika Janvier (27:55PR), Christiana Limage (28:09PR), and freshman Destinee Everett (29:32PR).
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"Lights.. .Camera...ACTION!"
Lady Minutemen Open Their Season At The SDA Invitational
September 13th, Jersey City - New cast, same show for the 2014 Lady Minuteman XC squad. Some say they have very spacy shoes to fill, especially with the graduation of 2013 Watchung Conference Champion and 3 time All-Union County XC selection Esther Jean-Louis. This dedicated clan, however, has decided to star on their OWN stage...and dance in their OWN shoes. First show? The 2014 St. Dominic Academy Invitational at venerable Lincoln Park in Jersey City.
Freshman Destinee Everett played show-opener as she rumbled a nifty 17:44 over the 2.2 mile short course. She finished 38th out of 68 ninth grade girls, and only 3 places from the medal podium.
The curtain was lifted at 11:25 for the main event: Girls' Varsity 5,350m race. When the gun went off, the Lady Minutemen hustled, waltzed, and fox-trotted their way to a slew of choreographed personal performances on the longer-than-average 3-loop course.
Chantel Monegro, the newly minted junior and #1 EHS harrier, led a trio of black and white clad Lady Minutemen trekkers beyond the finish line in 26:13. Her stellar performance also inked her in as the #10 EHS All-Time performer on the Lincoln Park course. Cinthia Garcia (26:47) and Waad Sayed (26:50) also plunged under the 27:00 barrier.
Closing out the scoring performance for the Lady Minutemen were senior Gabrielle Gilbert (27:33), junior Naika Janvier (28:24), and senior Christiana Limage (28:28).
The Lady Minutemen will open up conference competition against Linden on Tuesday, September 16th at Warinanco Park.
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Freshman Destinee Everett played show-opener as she rumbled a nifty 17:44 over the 2.2 mile short course. She finished 38th out of 68 ninth grade girls, and only 3 places from the medal podium.
The curtain was lifted at 11:25 for the main event: Girls' Varsity 5,350m race. When the gun went off, the Lady Minutemen hustled, waltzed, and fox-trotted their way to a slew of choreographed personal performances on the longer-than-average 3-loop course.
Chantel Monegro, the newly minted junior and #1 EHS harrier, led a trio of black and white clad Lady Minutemen trekkers beyond the finish line in 26:13. Her stellar performance also inked her in as the #10 EHS All-Time performer on the Lincoln Park course. Cinthia Garcia (26:47) and Waad Sayed (26:50) also plunged under the 27:00 barrier.
Closing out the scoring performance for the Lady Minutemen were senior Gabrielle Gilbert (27:33), junior Naika Janvier (28:24), and senior Christiana Limage (28:28).
The Lady Minutemen will open up conference competition against Linden on Tuesday, September 16th at Warinanco Park.
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Former Lady Minutemen Successful In
Collegiate Harrier Debuts
August 31st - Two former Lady Minutemen track & field student-athletes made their collegiate cross country debuts this past weekend.
Esther Jean-Louis, fresh off of completing the most successful mid-distance career in EHS history, has taken her talents to LIU-Brooklyn. She kicked off her collegiate cross country campaign at the Lehigh Invitational, where she traversed the 6000m course in a personal best of 24:57.68. Esther finished first amongst the runners on her team and 48th overall in a field of 106 runners. Her performance is also believed to be a LIU-Brooklyn school record for 6k. Esther graduated from Elizabeth High School (Upper Academy) in 2014 with school records for Warinanco Park's dual meet 5k cross country course (19:28) and the championship 5k course as well (20:05).
Lisa Rojas' performance was probably the more impressive of the two, primarily due to the fact that she has never contested a cross country race during her high school career (Lisa spent her fall seasons as a member of Elizabeth High School's heralded marching band). A freshman at Drew University (Madison, NJ), Lisa opened up at the Delaware Valley College Invitational (PA). Her personal best mark of 27:48.17 was first amongst the runners on her team and 26th overall in a field of 89 runners.
Congratulations to our former Lady Minutemen and we wish them the best of luck in all future collegiate endeavors!
Below are links to their respected collegiate athletic pages:
liuathletics.com drewrangers.com
Esther Jean-Louis, fresh off of completing the most successful mid-distance career in EHS history, has taken her talents to LIU-Brooklyn. She kicked off her collegiate cross country campaign at the Lehigh Invitational, where she traversed the 6000m course in a personal best of 24:57.68. Esther finished first amongst the runners on her team and 48th overall in a field of 106 runners. Her performance is also believed to be a LIU-Brooklyn school record for 6k. Esther graduated from Elizabeth High School (Upper Academy) in 2014 with school records for Warinanco Park's dual meet 5k cross country course (19:28) and the championship 5k course as well (20:05).
Lisa Rojas' performance was probably the more impressive of the two, primarily due to the fact that she has never contested a cross country race during her high school career (Lisa spent her fall seasons as a member of Elizabeth High School's heralded marching band). A freshman at Drew University (Madison, NJ), Lisa opened up at the Delaware Valley College Invitational (PA). Her personal best mark of 27:48.17 was first amongst the runners on her team and 26th overall in a field of 89 runners.
Congratulations to our former Lady Minutemen and we wish them the best of luck in all future collegiate endeavors!
Below are links to their respected collegiate athletic pages:
liuathletics.com drewrangers.com