Undergraduate Student News

Bob Pryor, a Navy veteran and political science student, is vice president of the Student Veterans Association at VCU and works in the district office of U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

By sea and now land, Navy veteran expands his service mindset as a VCU student

Nov. 8, 2024

Bob Pryor is finishing his undergraduate degree, preparing for his master’s in public administration – and staying incredibly busy beyond the classroom.

VCU student Anirudh Mepperla (seated) and Kirk Richardson, associate professor in the Department of Focused Inquiry, with one of the nap pods recently installed on the fifth floor of Grace E. Harris Hall. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

The bearer of good snooze: Undergrad’s research project is behind the new nap pods on campus

Oct. 30, 2024

Anirudh Mepperla and his Focused Inquiry professor, Kirk Richardson, put classwork into action.

VCU’s Jackson Mallory was elected minority leader at the inaugural Virginia Government Simulation led by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Democracy, Pluralism and Community Empowerment. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Led by VCU, the inaugural Virginia Government Simulation gives college students an exercise in engagement

Oct. 11, 2024

The three-day event, put on by the Institute for Democracy, Pluralism and Community Empowerment, involved 45 students from nine campuses across the state.

Ava Beaudin, a junior at VCU, learned about platinum therapeutics for ovarian and pancreatic cancers during a recent internship. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Chemistry major Ava Beaudin embraces the lab and the language

Oct. 7, 2024

The junior and aspiring doctor sees her recent summer internship in cancer research as a lesson in communication.

Aditya Kotha, a senior at VCU, researches alternative and affordable treatments for inflammatory immune disorders. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Aditya Kotha is exploring if some medications can be repurposed to treat other ailments

Sept. 25, 2024

Kotha, a Goldwater Scholar, hopes that his research in VCU’s Ryan Immunology Lab will one day help ‘improve and advance patient care.’

For the first time since 2021, Spit for Science – the nation’s largest genetic and environmental study of college students – is collecting samples for a new cohort, and researchers hope to recruit more than 1,000 students. (Photo by Emily Komornik, Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation).

VCU’s Spit for Science, the largest genetic and environmental study of college students in the U.S., is expanding

Sept. 25, 2024

Already with more than 13,000 participants, the registry will invite VCU’s new freshman class to join a research project that delivers insight into their health and well-being.

Thousands of new students, including more than 4,000 first-years, joined the VCU community this fall. Jasmyn Smith is looking forward to getting to know the students and faculty in her Doctor of Dental Surgery program. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Introducing the newest Rams

Sept. 13, 2024

Get to know six students who are just starting their VCU journeys and are eager to embrace the university community.

Noor Chouman’s internship responsibilities at Health Brigade included patient intake, health screenings and reviewing medical histories. (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU senior Noor Chouman felt a lasting connection at Health Brigade

Sept. 11, 2024

Chouman has completed two internships at the Richmond free clinic that provides empathetic medical care.

Amany Bouali (left) with Regine Rucker, education project manager with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, at the Department of Energy this summer. (Contributed photo)

VCU junior Amany Bouali brought a spark to work on energy reliability for storm-battered Puerto Rico

Sept. 9, 2024

Her summer stint with the Energy Department in Washington was supported by VCU’s Internship Funding Program.

Emma Coffey and Liz Zepeda-Cantarero participated in the first-gen, first-year program in the Department of Political Science in VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences. (College of Humanities and Sciences)

First and foremost: Department of Political Science program propels its first-generation students

Sept. 5, 2024

In its second year, the initiative is serving as a model that might be replicated throughout the College of Humanities and Sciences.