Graduate Ready

The research she did with Bryan Arnold, associate professor of biology, helped Sabrina to have her choice of graduate schools as she goes on to become an optometrist. The experience helped her discover that there are more options available to her than she thought: she can do research and teach, in addition to being a doctor. Research also gave her a unique international experience, traveling to Mexico to present her research in front of experts in the field at a North American Society for Bat Research conference. 

In addition to being her research advisor and faculty advisor, Sabrina said Arnold was someone she could go to with anything. But she also enjoyed not focusing on biology in every course. For Sabrina, taking courses in history, art and foreign languages gave her fresh and different perspectives on everything she was learning. She also found an outlet for one of her passions in the Environmentalists of IC club, in which she had the opportunity to serve as president. The club was recognized as the student organization of the year and she spearheaded an effort to eliminate plastic straws from campus.

The Phi Beta Kappa inductee plans to pursue a doctor of optometry degree at the University of Missouri St. Louis College of Optometry.

"Most graduate schools, if you're going into a scientific field, they like to see that you did research. It shows discipline; it shows commitment. And you definitely need discipline and commitment when you are doing research because it can be frustrating, but the end goal is amazing. You get to learn something that not a lot of people know and, maybe for the first time, you're the only one that knows it for like a minute. And then you share it with the world, which is really cool."