Ashley Wallin wanted to be a nurse until she took a microbiology class at Mohave Community College.

Science is definitely for me, said the 19-year-old Lake Havasu High School graduate. I was in love with everything we talked about. Its like there is an entire world (of microbiology) around you that you cant see and people dont think about on a daily basis. Its like discovering new life.

With the encouragement of MCCs science faculty, Wallin began to research summer science internships, eventually applying for nearly 20.

I was excited when my microbiology professor, Dr. Mat Routh, told me about internship possibilities. I had no idea they even existed, she said. I just went out there and took every opportunity I could find.

In March, Wallin was driving to her chemistry lab class on the Havasu campus when her cell phone rang. It was the University of Minnesota, which offers a genetics internship that accepts only 14 students nationally.

I started to cry. It was a long shot, but applying actually worked, she said. I felt like I won the lottery.

Wallin leaves today for the 10-week paid summer internship with the University of Minnesotas Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Molecular Genetics and Proteomics. The program paid for Wallins roundtrip travel expenses, housing and meals, in addition to a $4,000 stipend. The total compensation is expected to equal $8,600, according to the programs website.

The interns will first spend three weeks at the Lake Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories before completing the program on the Minneapolis campus. The molecular genetics laboratory course is designed to teach the interns basic techniques used in gene cloning and practical experience in protein analysis before initiating their own research projects.

During those weeks, Wallin will work with an experienced scientist to investigate the possibility of using bacteria to clean polluted water or produce electricity. Its a new area for Wallin, who has been more focused on medical science.

I think it will be good to get to see this side of it, said Wallin, who plans on earning a Ph.D. and eventually becoming a professor or a lab scientist. She is well on her way, having finished classes at MCC this spring and transferred to Arizona State Universitys Lake Havasu campus to complete a bachelors degree in life sciences.

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MCC student earns summer internship in molecular biology