In front row, from left: VGCC instructor Dr. Tara Hamilton, students Ashe Lewis (J.F. Webb High School), Shanequa Cearnel (Granville Central High School), Georgina Vanegas (Vance County Early College High School), Susana Garcia (Northern Vance High School) and Aide Novato (Northern Vance); in back row, from left: VGCC lab technician Mark Smith, Bioprocess Technology program head Dr. Danny Monroe and students Dillan Phillips (Louisburg High School), Toriana Jones (Southern Vance High School) and Ben Paul (Crossroads Christian School). (VGCC photo)
Vance-Granville Community College held its first-ever Biotech Workshop for local high school students over the course of two Saturdays, April 20 and April 27. VGCC Bioprocess Technology program head Dr. Danny Monroe and Chemistry/Biology instructor Dr. Tara Hamilton conducted the camp with assistance from lab technician Mark Smith of Henderson, a graduate of the college’s Bioprocess program who is preparing to continue his education at North Carolina Central University. The eight participating students hailed from J.F. Webb, Granville Central, Vance County Early College, Northern Vance, Southern Vance and Louisburg High Schools and Crossroads Christian School.
High school students (from left) Susana Garcia and Georgina Vanegas examine Green Fluorescent Protein at the VGCC Biotech Workshop. (VGCC photo)
Students had the chance to work with faculty in the state-of-the-art biotech laboratory in Building 8 on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. Through hands-on experience, they developed lab skills that they may use in college and in careers in scientific research, high-tech manufacturing or medicine. Students were introduced to the basics of biotechnology through a procedure in which they produced and purified a Green Fluorescent Protein, which glows when exposed to ultra-violet light.
For more information on Bioprocess Technology, contact Dr. Monroe at (252) 738-3232 or monroed@vgcc.edu.