by Ava Gross ’21
Haley Jostes, a sophomore at Gustavus Adolphus College, has been awarded a DAAD RISE Scholarship to conduct research in Germany this summer. The research project is focused on the study of clay-organic nanocomposites and how they can best be used to improve water quality and water health issues in Germany.
The German Academic Exchange Service’s (DAAD) RISE (Research Internships in Science and Engineering) program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to complete a summer research internship at one of Germany’s top universities and research institutions. According to the website, students are paired with a host university according to their area of interest and are given a monthly stipend to cover everyday costs.
The DAAD RISE Scholarship program’s mission is to “promote student exchange to Germany in the fields of natural science, engineering, and life sciences, and to motivate undergraduate students to learn more about Germany’s research landscape and study opportunities.”
Jostes is a sophomore biochemistry and molecular biology and chemistry double major and has already been involved in three separate research opportunities during her time at Gustavus.
“My past research experiences were instrumental in preparing me for this upcoming research opportunity. I spoke with the internship provider that I ended up being paired with for the summer and one of the primary reasons I was selected was because of my knowledge of the instrumentation as well as my past research experience as a whole,” Jostes said.
Dr. Jeff Jeremiason has known Jostes since her first semester at Gustavus when she took his Principles of Chemistry course. “Haley was a competitive student that worked hard to do her best and always came to class with a smile,” Jeremiason said.
Jeremiason also worked with Jostes during her research project this past summer. “Last summer, and then again over January Term, Haley worked in an environmental chemistry lab learning how to use a process called liquid chromatography to simplify our processes in the lab,” Jeremiason said. “She always had this really positive attitude and even when things would go wrong, she would never get too frustrated.”
Not only does Jostes have experience in research, but she has deep familial ties to Germany as well. “Aside from the research, another major aspect as to why I was drawn to that program was because my family is originally from Germany. I’m a dual citizen, I speak German, and I have a lot of family that resides in the country. I’m looking forward to building deeper connections with the family that reside there.”
When speaking about her future aspirations and goals, Jostes currently plans to pursue a doctorate in a chemistry related field. “The more chemistry classes I take at Gustavus, the more excited I get when thinking about my future. I’ve always been interested in water quality, so water chemistry or analytical chemistry both sound really interesting, but honestly, I’m not quite sure what my future holds,” Jostes said. “I am working with a PhD student for this research opportunity, so I hope that they will have a lot of wisdom to share with me in terms of how I should go about deciding a specific area of research to specialize in.”
“Overall, I’m just super excited to have been given this incredible opportunity and I can’t wait to see where this experience takes me.”
More information about how the Gustavus Fellowships Office supports students is available on the Gustavus website.