Graduating Senior Wins Artis Outstanding Student Award

Kiersten Newtoff will Study Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington Next Year

During the 2012 College of Science and Technology commencement ceremony biology major Kiersten Newtoff was presented the Artis Outstanding Student Award. The presentation was made by RU Board of Visitor and award sponsor Ms. Nancy Artis. The awardee is selected from the eight Dean's Scholars representing the degree programs in the college.

Along with earning a perfect 4.0 grade point average, Kiersten has been very active in departmental, college, and university activities. She helped prepare an identification key to over 400 wild flowers that can be found in Wildwood Park, a natural area frequently used by local schools and biology classes at RU. Kiersten has also conducted research on the impact of harvesting medicinal plants in nearby national forests. She participated in a Smithsonian Institution summer internship in environmental biology last summer. She has been a peer instructor in several biology courses and is working with Dr. Christine Small designing laboratory exercises that foster the development of quantitative skills. Four the past four years, Kiersten has been an active member of the RU Honors Academy.

Next year Kiersten will continue to pursue her interests in coastal ecology and conservation through the M.S. Marine Biology graduate program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she will study the ecology and conservation of coastal bird species. The research will involve banding pelicans and collecting tissue samples to analyze the bird's diet using stable isotope and mercury analysis.

May 5, 2012
Joel Hagen
(540)831-5817
Jhagen@radford.edu