Biology Honor Society Named Top Chapter in Texas

The South Central Region is composed of two districts. District 1 includes colleges and universities in Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma while District 2 encompasses all of Texas. The award for Outstanding Chapter in District 2 is based on the number of student research papers submitted for presentation at the regional conference, number of members attending, chapter history results, paper and poster presentation results, and number of chapter officers serving official functions.

Hannah Jones “I can’t express how incredibly proud I am of our Tri-Beta students,” said Hannah Jones, biology instructor and faculty advisor. “They earned a variety of awards attesting to all their hard work and dedication to achieve success for themselves, our Tri-Beta chapter and the ASU Biology Department. These students worked tirelessly for months to prepare their research for presentation, while also assisting in planning and hosting the Tri-Beta Regional Convention. This was no small feat, yet these successes are just a small sample of all the great work these students do. I’m confident they will continue accomplishing great things and making us proud.”

The ASU chapter will now compete for the Lloyd M. Bertholf Award as the top chapter in the nation at the Tri-Beta National Convention May 29-June 2 in Columbus, Georgia. ASU has won the Bertholf Award a record eight times, more than any of the other 600-plus chapters in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Halle Summers Also at the regional convention, six Angelo State students delivered oral or poster presentations of their research projects in several different sessions. ASU’s Halle Summers of Spring won second place in her session for her oral presentation on her research project titled “DNA Barcoding of Peromyscus from the Davis Mountains in Texas.” Her ASU faculty mentor is Dr. Loren Ammerman, professor of biology.

Other ASU students presenting their research projects included:

• Tyler Arnwine of Abilene
• James Bautista of San Angelo
• Andrea Burt of San Angelo
• Francisco Fuentes of San Angelo
• Karter Morris of Aspermont

Bautista was also elected vice president for Tri-Beta’s South Central Region after serving as 2022-23 president, and ASU’s Logan Leto of San Angelo was elected secretary.

Additionally, the ASU chapter won first place for its scrapbook entry in the Outstanding Chapter History competition, earned a first-place prize for Number of Delegates, and was also honored for acting as host for the regional convention.

ASU biology alumna Krysta Demere, now a wildlife diversity biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, delivered the conventions’ keynote address.