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Undergraduate Research is "Sum”-thing Special: Belle and Rylee's Experiences in the Mathematics Potential Lab

  • jmrodrigues210
  • Jun 23
  • 3 min read

This last academic year (2024-2025), MPL was lucky enough to have two undergraduate researchers join us – thanks to a program called KC Scholars. These students interviewed with multiple labs and decided that MPL was going to be their research home for the year. Below Belle and Rylee share some of their experiences in the lab, including traveling to the Council for Exceptional Children Annual Conference and participating in a local research conference, Show Me Research Week. 

 

Meet Belle: 

My name is Belle-Ange Stephanie Georges. I am a sophomore majoring in Health Sciences. I am also a Kansas City (KC) Scholar. As a KC Scholar, I receive financial assistance to complete my post-secondary education at Mizzou as a low- and moderate-income household student. The KC Scholars program also helps undergraduate students get engaged in undergraduate research, which is how I was introduced to the Mathematics Potential Lab (MPL). In addition to doing research with the lab, I attend weekly KC Scholars meetings focused on enhancing undergraduate research skills where I benefit from professional and academic guidance from faculty and peers. This support further prepared me for attending my first research conference and helped build my confidence to participate in the Undergraduate Show Me Research Week at Mizzou. I feel so fortunate to have experienced these opportunities, which continue to motivate me to pursue future research opportunities.   

One of my favorite memories from being part of MPL was attending the 2025 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) conference in Baltimore, MD. It was an experience beyond anything I imagined during my first year of college; it was both educational and enjoyable. It was an incredible opportunity to support our team’s research presentations. I was able to participate in distributing mathematical exercises during an oral presentation that encouraged engagement from the teacher attendees in the audience. I also supported the team’s poster presentations at the CEC conference. Being part of the presentations, whether to assist or offer support, gave me a sense of belonging that I will never forget. Outside of presenting and the conference, the trip itself was a rewarding chance to explore a new city, try a variety of restaurants, and enjoy new dishes. 

This experience prepared me to eventually participate in the undergraduate Show Me Research Week at Mizzou. I worked with several other undergraduate researchers to create and present a poster. By witnessing how my team members communicated their parts of the poster, I learned a lot about presenting and how to share a poster with wide audiences at a professional research forum. 


Belle, Molly, Rylee, and Mareia (from left to right) presented their poster at the undergraduate Show Me Research Week.
Belle, Molly, Rylee, and Mareia (from left to right) presented their poster at the undergraduate Show Me Research Week.

Szymon, Taylor, Rylee, and Belle (from left to right; Undergraduate Research Assistants in MPL) grab lunch while in Baltimore during their down time at the CEC Annual Conference. 
Szymon, Taylor, Rylee, and Belle (from left to right; Undergraduate Research Assistants in MPL) grab lunch while in Baltimore during their down time at the CEC Annual Conference. 













Meet Rylee: 

My name is Rylee Hatfield, and I am going into my junior year at The University of Missouri majoring in Health Science Pre-PA. Being an undergraduate researcher was never something I thought was possible when coming to college. Being in Health Science there are many assumptions made by society about being a student researcher like, “you only clean beakers in the lab” or “you only sweep the floors,” but my experience as an undergraduate researcher is far from that. I had the opportunity to join MPL in my fall semester of sophomore year. I am a KC Scholar, and my scholarship introduced me to the opportunity to get involved in undergraduate research. I have never had so much support and encouragement than from MPL and KC Scholars mentors.  

Right from the beginning of joining MPL, I was digging into articles and helping with the designs of our abstracts that are a key part in our study. Being able to start so quickly and be involved early on, I was able to go to the Council of Exceptional Children 2025 conference in Baltimore, Maryland with the lab. This conference was such an amazing experience and allowed me to grow my connections and learn a lot of new important information. I was part of a presentation where I greeted the teacher audience, helped them to engage in the presentation, and passed out prizes. I also supported the posters that our lab presented at the conference. One of those posters I contributed to, and it was so cool to see the effects of our hard work as a lab come together.  

With this experience, I was able to take notes and present a poster with 3 other members from our lab at Show Me Research week. The most important part about this experience is that I got to build strong friendships with my lab group. I am so very thankful for the KC Scholars program and the opportunities they gave me. 



A group of MPL members take a selfie in front of Shannon Locke’s poster at the CEC Annual Conference. 
A group of MPL members take a selfie in front of Shannon Locke’s poster at the CEC Annual Conference. 


Szymon (left) and Rylee (right) at the University of Missouri social at the CEC Annual Conference in Baltimore. 
Szymon (left) and Rylee (right) at the University of Missouri social at the CEC Annual Conference in Baltimore. 

 
 
 

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