<p>^^^</p>
<p>I don’t know. I guess a student can apply again the following year, but I think kids often want another experience. I think being on another school’s campus is half the excitement. :)</p>
<p>Bumping this for my Bama Brag. Son has had a great freshman year and is on his way to finishing another semester of enjoyable classes and great grades that he works hard to achieve. He was accepted as an undergraduate researcher in the Caldwell lab and loves it, spending 15 hrs/week and often more in the lab. He was named as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute undergraduate researcher, which provides a structured program for this spring, summer and fall, provides an opportunity to present his research at an end of summer conference, pays him a salary for his summer research, pays for his summer housing, provides a $400 stipend for food/misc, and I think offers the opportunity to repeat next year. He received the Dr. J. Henry Walker Memorial Scholarship in Biology. He did poster presentations of his Caldwell Lab research at the UA Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Conference and at the UA System Honors Research Conference, and he has a paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Science and Health at The University of Alabama (JOSHUA). I continue to be amazed at the opportunities that UA has offered him in his first year of college and proud of him for making the most of those opportunities.</p>
<p>Wow…just wow!! Awesome freshman year!</p>
<p>* He was accepted as an undergraduate researcher in the Caldwell lab and loves it, spending 15 hrs/week and often more in the lab*</p>
<p>For those unfamiliar with Drs. Guy and Kim Caldwell…they are brilliant, intense, and amazing. They’re a H & W team that live and breathe research. It is a quite an honor to get selected to work in The Caldwell Lab…aka The Worm Shack.</p>
<p><a href=“http://bama.ua.edu/~gcaldwel/[/url]”>http://bama.ua.edu/~gcaldwel/</a></p>
<p>The Caldwell Laboratory (a.k.a, The Worm Shack) at The University of Alabama is studying malfunction in basic cellular mechanisms associated with diseases of the nervous system. Our laboratory utilizes the microscopic nematode roundworm, C. elegans, as a model system for discovering gene function, as well as therapeutic target development for these disorders. Research in The Shack is dynamic and continually evolving, but current efforts are on focused toward investigations of human movement disorders, including dystonia and Parkinson’s Disease, as well as Alzheimer’s disease, cystic fibrosis, ALS, and epilepsy.</p>
<p>That’s fantastic Randomparent. Congratulations to your S. </p>
<p>Can you tell us what they are doing in the Caldwell lab?</p>
<p>Thanks M2CK and Cuttlefish123. Cuttlefish123, M2CK quoted a good general description of the research in the Caldwell Lab. My son is working on only one of many ongoing research projects in the lab. I don’t really have any depth of understanding for any of the projects, but as I understand it, my son’s research project is focused on targeting specific genes in C. elegans (round worms) in an effort to model regeneration of dopamine neurons. Regeneration of dopamine neurons is important because dopamine neurons die off in human brains as a result of Parkinson’s disease.</p>
<p>Randomparent: Thanks for sharing. I knew the Caldwells were famous for their worm research. Good to know they are on track to help with a possible cure for Parkinson’s disease. Congrats again to your S. Roll Tide!!</p>
<p>Outstanding and astounding, randomparent. Bravissimo!</p>
<p>Awesome!
ROLL TIDE!
I <3 Bama!</p>
<p>Serious jaw dropping going on here. Amazed, simply amazed!. STANDING OVATION!!!</p>
<p>To son for his hard work; Drs. and team for their dedication and UA for the opportunities.</p>
<p>I have enjoyed reading of everyone’s very impressive achievements!</p>
<p>Congratulations to all for a great job done!</p>
<p>Ok…Year one done for Son…! He cannot imagine being any where on the planet but Bama!</p>
<p>He brought home a 4.0 second semester!! We are very proud of him and he feels really good about that accomplishment considering he is in a fraternity, served as a First Year Councilman on the student governnment, member of the Finance Association, active in the campus Republican organization (who knew he was Republican…!), inducted into Alpha Lamba Delta Honor Society ( I think that’s the correct name) and he had more fun than he has ever dreamed of having in a lifetime…!</p>
<p>He landed an internship for the summer at Ericcson in their International Supply Chain Division and has a few weeks to relax before he starts there. </p>
<p>And here is the icing on the cake…he brought home a puppy…! Whoooo Boy…! Wife is freaking out but will survive…! Puppy is going to be big, paws like catchers mitts…we will be able to ride him I think before son brings him back to campus in August to live with the guys at the Retreat…!</p>
<p>Have a great summer everyone…congrats to all of the fantastic accomplishments shared here…!</p>
<p>These stories of young people growing and acheiving truly GREAT things at 'Bama are inspirational and motivational for those of us considering sending our kiddo to UA.</p>
<p>You should be very, very proud.</p>
<p>I want to be proud like that after DD wraps up her freshman year, too.</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing.</p>
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<p>Congrats on the grades and even bigger congrats that your son is a REPUBLICAN!! That is a fine young man you have. Tell him to keep up the good work and give the libs hell :-)</p>
<p>Roll Tide!!</p>
<p>Searchguy-Congratulations on your son’s awesome accomplishments second semester. I can only hope that my son has that much success during his freshman year! </p>
<p>LOL-Casinoexec! I agree with you 100% and I can tell you that my DS has already said that he’ll be joining the Young Republican Organization on campus :)</p>
<p>^^^ I thought the Young Repubplicans were hosting all the Tea Parties Ahpimommy posts about 
^^^</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations to all the students who have fashioned the magnificent achievements posted in this thread, as well as all the parents of those students who are justifiably proud.</p>
<p>That said, allow me to shamelessly add that my son nailed a 4.132 GPA this semester, with three A+'s, thereby maintaining his cumulative GPA after 4 semesters at 'Bama at 4.0+. </p>
<p>Roll Tide and have a great summer everyone!</p>
<p>way to go, sean!!!</p>
<p>Thank you, Mike.</p>
<p>Congrats, Malanai…Well done!!</p>
<p>
Speechless…I can’t even imagine getting grades like that! Congrats to your son!</p>
<p>I share this not to brag (really!) but in hopes of encouraging anyone who may ever have a bad semester…after finishing fall semester with exactly a 3.0 in only 11 credits (had to drop a class I was doing poorly in the day of the drop deadline because I wouldn’t have a high enough gpa for my scholarship), I have miraculously finished this semester with a 4.0. All I can say is, my professors were definitely feeling very generous. A lot really can change in a semester!</p>