From rising bread and domesticated dogs to penicillin and rubber, humans have a long history of shaping our world through biotechnology — using biological systems and organisms to improve or create desired products.

Today’s hot science topics, such as genetically modified crops and new vaccine techniques, show that biotechnology also plays a large role in society’s present and future. That’s why it’s important to introduce this subject to the next generation of scientists and decision-makers.

The Spring 2022 convocation ceremony of Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College welcomed more than 1,500 graduates into the world's most important profession: education. 

This semester's graduates included:

For a time, Taura Rush thought becoming a teacher was out of reach. The Arizona Teachers Academy scholarship at Arizona State University — and access to an online degree program — changed that. 

In 2020, after leaving an abusive marriage, Rush, 34, returned to her family in the small town of Joseph City, Arizona. The single mother of two took a job as a school paraprofessional and, to make ends meet, also worked as the maintenance person on the same campus. 

Understanding imposter syndrome among the undergraduate student population. Studying the impact of a lack of women of color in higher education institutions. Creating a college-going culture among first generation Latino students in rural Arizona 

These topics and more were part of a staggering array of research presented at the 2022 Doctoral Research Conference, hosted by Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. More than 200 students in the college’s Leadership and Innovation, EdD program presented work that was both varied and vast. 

This month, Yalda M.Kaveh examines students speaking different languages in school; Meseret F. Hailu studies the hostility towards women in higher education in Ethiopia and more.

Adam Clark, academic associate (lead author) 

Ruth Wylie, associate research professor (co-author)

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