Albert Mason (AS Science, 2000) recently returned to campus to do a presentation on his undergraduate research at the University of Wyoming (BS Biology, 2021). When asked about his experience at CWC, his additional education and future plans, Albert said: My time at Central Wyoming College prepared me for the rigorous workloads of a university. CWC helped ease the transition to the university which would’ve been harder because I didn’t know what college was going to be like. CWC simulated college level work but at a lower level that made it easy to follow along and learn everything I can.
I really liked my time at the University of Wyoming because it gave me a chance to experience many classes taught by many different professors that specialized in different areas of research to really look into myself and wonder what I wanted to study. I knew only a few things coming from CWC and about what I wanted to be but I never knew how specific and complex many of the study areas and topics were. I liked delving deeper into my choice of topics such as ungulates and experiencing new topics like mushrooms which I would’ve never considered studying.
My research opened my eyes to how scientific research takes place and how everything is analyzed. I knew that I wanted to gain experience working in a lab and with EPSCoR’s help I got to design my own project based on my interests. While I have learned many new techniques and instruments, I know that there is plenty more to learn. My research helped me learn the instruments in the lab by preparing and analyzing each of my samples. I was able to analyze the data that came off the machines to further increase my skill set.
I was extremely grateful to get the chance to present my project at CWC. I had the chance to present my project and my experiences as a transitional student who started out at CWC then switching to a university after I graduated from CWC. It was a little nerve racking at first but once I got comfortable with my audience then things started to smooth out.
My plan now that I graduated from UW is to apply for graduate school to either expand my project from it being a pilot study or switching avenues to study something different in the field of ungulates and biology.
Read about Albert’s research on Mule Deer Migration Paths on the Wind River Indian Reservation here: http://www.wyomingbiodiversity.org/index.php/research-grants/research-outreach-grants/richard-baldes-native-american-excellence-fund-award/highlights/albert-mason
