Chelsi Kwitoski of Mechanicsburg receives acceptance into Summer Research Fellowship Program

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Chelsi M. Kwitoski

LOCK HAVEN, PA (02/25/2011)(readMedia)-- Lock Haven University junior Chelsi Kwitoski has received acceptance into the 2011 Summer Research Fellowship Program at Upstate Medical University, an educational institution within the State University of New York (SUNY) system. The program carries a stipend of $3,000 for the summer, plus free housing. The 2011 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program runs from Monday, June 6 until Friday, August 12.

The SURF Program is an intensive ten-week summer program designed to expose undergraduate students to biomedical research. Undergraduates carry out research, write a paper, and have the opportunity to see their work published. During the program, students attend research seminars and participate in discussions on alternative careers in research and how to apply to graduate school.

According to the terms of an articulation agreement between Lock Haven University and SUNY Upstate Medical University, one slot per year in the SURF Program is held for a Lock Haven University science major who will have completed the spring semester of his or her junior year, who has maintained a 3.7 G.P.A., and who wants to enter graduate school to work toward a career in biomedical research.

Kwitoski is majoring in biology-chemistry with a concentration in pre-medicine. Her minor is nanotechnology. The Mechanicsburg, Pa. resident is the daughter of John and Cyndie Kwitoski.

Upon receiving word of her summer fellowship, Kwitoski said, "I am very happy to receive this opportunity, not to mention how very excited I am to receive this great honor. I am humbled and beyond ecstatic. It is such an honor to have been recommended for this program and to be accepted -- it will be a challenging experience which not many will be granted with." She added, "I want to thank everyone who helped me with recommendations and reference letters which helped get me accepted."

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Deborah Erickson send her congratulations, telling Kwitoski, "We are very proud of your acceptance into the Summer Research Program at SUNY Upstate Medical University." Dr. Anura Goonewardene, professor and chair of the geology and physics department, echoed these sentiments. "Congratulations, Chelsi," he wrote, "We are proud of you."

Dr. David L. White, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, commented, "Chelsi's acceptance into the Upstate Medical Center's summer research program is proof positive that there are wonderful things going on in the classrooms and laboratories at Lock Haven University. We obviously have a first-rate faculty who are helping students to learn and grow and challenging them to excel in many ways." He added, "My hat is off to both Chelsi and her professors."

Kwitoski, too, credited her professors for preparing her for this opportunity. "The education I have been receiving at LHU has been an outstanding one. It both challenges me academically and socially to become a better student and person overall." She also said, "At LHU I have been given opportunities of a lifetime that I would not have received at any other university. It truly is a place where it's a small college lifestyle, yet I've been given a big university education. Coming here has genuinely been the best choice I've ever made."

Lock Haven University is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 405,000 system alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.