Student Research and Creativity Grants were awarded to 12 McDaniel students this academic year. The grants, ranging from $25 to $500, are intended to encourage special projects that complement students’ major academic emphases. A grant may cover for instance, the cost of materials or travel expenses.

Here are the stories of two students who benefited from the grants in very different ways. Diego de los Rios ’06 used a travel grant to return to his native Bogota, Colombia to research the Sai Baba movement. Amy King ’06 (above) used the grant to help fund her research with the bacteria Enterococcus.

Colombia native studies religious movement

Diego de los Rios ’06 is studying a worldwide religious movement based around an Indian teacher named Sathya Sai Baba. He first noticed the movement in his hometown of Bogota, Colombia, during dinner at a friend’s house.

Biology major tests bacteria genes

Amy King ’06 knew she wanted to perform a clinical experiment for her Biology Capstone project. To do it, the Manchester, Md., native found some of her test subjects in the supermarket.