As a biology major at UCCS, Kim Hoang cites research with Dr. Jeremy Bono as a rewarding part of her undergraduate work and encourages future and current biology students to pursue research if they desire to see how lessons are practically applied. Since graduating from UCCS, Kim has defended her doctoral thesis at Emory University, earning a Ph.D. in 2019. In 2020, she entered postdoctoral research at Oxford as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology. Presently, she has returned to Emory University to continue her postdoctoral research and in 2022 was awarded the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) Young Investigator Prize. What advice does Kim have for students at UCCS? “Enjoy your classes, even the required ones that may be outside your major, because it is one of the last times you will get to study a broad range of subjects without individually undertaking them!” 

Josue Balbuena was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. At the age of 18, Josue enlisted in the Marine Corps, where he served for nine years before relocating to Colorado Springs to launch his dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. At UCCS, Josue majored in Biology-Biomedical Sciences and followed the Pre-Medicine track. In addition to collaborating with faculty at UCCS, Josue worked as a medical scribe in a local ER, preparing him further for his surgical career. Josue began medical school in the summer of 2022.