Robin Fettig – Spurred on to Graduate School After the SPUR Program
When Robin Fettig enrolled at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN as a Biology and Psychology major, she did not envision pursuing a research career. A summer of research in the Sanford Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) changed that. Robin had already spent a summer doing research at Concordia college, which sparked enough interest to seek out an external research opportunity elsewhere. That led her to Sanford Research and the SPUR program in 2017.
Although she initially started college as a pre-med student, Robin’s research experiences changed her career trajectory. “Those research opportunities really helped open up my eyes to what a scientist is like and what kind of career that entails,” Robin explained. “I’m a curious person … I think I just kind of like the discovery of science and how you do one experiment and you answer part of one question and that leads to ten other questions. The options are just kind of limitless, and it’s just really exciting to be on the cutting edge of problem solving and figuring out these questions.”
When Robin applied to the SPUR program, she didn’t think she would be accepted. “When I got in, I was extremely excited,” Robin said. Robin joined Dr. Paola Vermeer’s lab as a SPUR student. She describes her time in the program as a crucial experience in her career development. “I learned so much. I felt like I could take ownership of my project, and I had a good relationship with my mentor, and it was a really awesome experience. And I think that was the pivotal point for me in terms of what I wanted to do.”
Robin’s experience in the SPUR program led her to pursue a career in research. After college, she spent a few years working in industry before applying to graduate school. Although she applied to a variety of graduate programs, she ultimately decided to return to Sanford Research through the Basic Biomedical Sciences PhD program at USD. “I loved working at Sanford Research,” Robin said. “I just feel like everyone at Sanford Research is just wanting to see other people succeed.” Robin thrives on the open layout of the Sanford Research laboratory space and the availability of other scientists to assist with new techniques. “I find the collaborative nature of Sanford Research to be really empowering to me as a student trying to establish these new assays, and it helps my success. I hope to also help out other people in establishing things that I’m familiar with as well.”
For her dissertation, Robin is working in Dr. Kurt Warnhoff’s lab studying the role of key metals and cofactors in the nematode model system C. elegans. In addition to her research, Robin has enjoyed the Sanford Research Career Path Workshop Series, where she has learned about a variety of different career opportunities in science. Having research experience in both academia and industry, Robin now has set her sights on a career in academia and an interest in neuroscience. “I think I would really enjoy being a PI and having my own lab and mentoring my own students,” Robin said. “That’s one thing as a graduate student that I’ve enjoyed so far is mentoring students that come through the lab. I just love to mentor students at all stages of their career and hopefully show them how awesome science is.”
As she makes her way through the graduate program, Robin doesn’t shy away from telling others about the impact the SPUR program had on her. “Every student that shadows me in the lab, or if I’m mentoring a student for the summer, I tell them that that was the pivotal point for me.” She valued the relationships she had with faculty, staff, and other students, and she regularly reflects on the experience. “I was so lucky to get into that program,” she said, “because it really showed me that this was the career for me.” Robin describes her SPUR experience as “life-changing” toward a path that led her back to Sanford Research: “Coming here as a grad student just made sense.”