With a longtime interest in science, Lyndsy Stacy hit her stride at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, where she’s graduating in May with a master’s degree in biology.
She felt the campus was an ideal place to further study a wide range of sciences, especially as she prepares to pursue a doctorate at Sam Houston State University, the third-oldest public university in Texas.
“I've been doing research involving computer modeling and viruses, but when I start my Ph.D. program, I’ll be specifically in forensic science,” Stacy said. “It’s what I’ve been shooting for with my background in science.”
Stacy said A&M-San Antonio’s intimate size helped enhance her understanding of her field of study.
“I feel like I was getting more one-on-one, closer interaction with my professors,” she said. “They helped me learn how to do research and be a scientist. I was also a teaching assistant, so I taught some of the general biology labs and some biostats labs.”
Ashley Teufel, assistant professor of biology, taught Stacy graduate courses for two years. She describes Stacy as a motivated, driven, articulate student. Stacy is just the fourth biology graduate student to defend a thesis since the university opened.
“I’m looking forward to her running off to bigger and better things after she's done here,” Teufel said.
Teufel added that while A&M-San Antonio is a relatively young institution, she and her faculty colleagues are thrilled to work in an atmosphere that allows them to engage directly with their students and position them for success.
“While Lyndsay was working in my lab, she had the opportunity to interact with the group that she's going to end up doing a Ph.D. with,” Teufel says. “We're small enough that you can really spend a lot of time with your individual graduate student and make sure they get those sorts of connections that they need to move to the next place.”
Stacy said she’s particularly intrigued by the scientific methods used to investigate crimes or examine evidence, including DNA.
“It's kind of morbid, but it's one of the more interesting areas of applied science,” Stacy said. “It's really cool because forensics are applied to the law, and they help you see the importance of what you do. Ultimately, I would love to work in a huge government-funded lab researching different methods of DNA detection.”
While she looks forward to serving as a research assistant at Sam Houston State, Stacy is grateful for her experience at A&M-San Antonio.
“Students at A&M-San Antonio have a strong connection with professors,” she said. “They give us hands-on experience that helps us go out into the workforce. It’s something that I admire about the university. It helped set my path forward.”