Students are given a monthly stipend to defray living expenses during their time in Germany, as well as the opportunity to increase their research skills in an international setting while working closely with research mentors.
Originally from Reedy, West Virginia, Roberts is a junior biochemistry major who is also studying German. He hopes to eventually complete a master’s degree in Germany in immunology and continue to pharmacy school.
“I originally studied German because I wanted to do research for a living and Germany is a huge research country,” he said. “I got into German and really wanted to continue with it and strive for fluency.”
Although he has visited Germany before, Roberts says he’s particularly looking forward to living and working in Germany and getting to experience the country from a perspective different than that of a tourist.
Roberts has won Outstanding Freshman Chemist from Marshall’s Department of Chemistry and is a member and treasurer of Alpha Chi Sigma; he is also a member of Marshall’s Honors College and a Yeager Scholar. Through DAAD-RISE’s competitive matching process, Roberts was partnered with a lab at Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany. He will work with an international team of researchers studying natural killer cells, something he has written about in his classes here at Marshall.
Although over 1700 students typically apply, only around 300 scholarships are awarded through the program each year to applicants from North America, Great Britain and Ireland.
For more information on the DAAD-RISE program or on nationally competitive scholarships, visit https://www.daad.de/rise/en/rise-germany/ or contact Mallory Carpenter by e-mail at Mallory.carpenter@marshall.edu.