Student Spotlight: Bonnie Raechal Beres ’23

By Brenna Cisler

From a research assistant in a biology lab to a summer intern on the Texas border, from an RA to a tour guide, and from a cross country athlete to the 2021 intramural badminton champion, to say that Bonnie Raechal Beres ’23 is actively involved in the St. Norbert College community is an understatement. She is also a valued member of the Parish Pastoral Council, participated in TRIPs, will study abroad in Panama next spring, is the secretary for the NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary), is a member of the Scholars for Community Engaged-Vocation, volunteered at Freedom House for the Michels Hall Service Program, is the recipient of a piano scholarship and has played in the piano ensemble and the handbell choir, and has engaged in three intramural sports: badminton, corn hole, and co-ed basketball.

Beres believes that it is important to be actively involved on campus because “it gives me new experiences and new connections and engages me in ways that may not have been known to me in the past. I think it introduces you to different people, helps you form connections, and ultimately helps you find out about your interests. Cornhole, for example — it’s a very select group of people who are signing up for that — and it’s an interaction that is very enjoyable, but that I hadn’t experienced before.”

Balancing everything that she does, from schoolwork to sports, and from giving tour guides to giving time to volunteer, certainly takes proficient time management skills and proper planning. When asked how she handles it all, Beres remarks that, “I plan my days not exactly by the minute, but I write down a list of what I want to get done that day, separating what needs to be done from what would be fun to get done. I stay up later than I should,” she laughs, “and wake up earlier than I should. I try to keep in mind what actually is important, thinking long term. Some things seem like a big deal and like a pressing issue in the moment, but I try to step back and think ‘is this really that important?’ and ‘am I going to remember cramming this information down my brain more than forming a connection with somebody who really needs one right now?’ I try to prioritize the events of the day, so that the ones that I know are going to be most meaningful are accomplished. Sometimes some events just don’t take priority that day and that’s okay.”

With being so actively involved, it may be easy to strive for quantity over quality in regard to activities, but Beres tries to engage in organizations and groups that she finds to be meaningful. She described the most meaningful organizations that she has found as “the ones where I can connect with people and bond with them. I think intramurals has been fun, I think certain classes have been fun, especially if they have a field trip component. I think music has been fun because those are people in a different major than me usually, and I love to experience a way of life— or a way of study— that is different from what I typically do. A lot of work on the parish has been meaningful, particularly the Parish Pastoral Council, because I feel like I actually have a say in improving faith life on campus.”

She is also thankful for the great start that she has had so far thanks to the help of St. Norbert College and the Honors Program. Speaking on how St. Norbert College has helped her along in her path, she says, “St. Norbert College established connections in my life that have led me to experiences that inspire me or intrigue my interests. For example, I work in one of the molecular biology labs on campus under the direction of Dr. Brandt and, through that experience, I received information about REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) programs, one of which I applied to and got accepted. That experience allowed me to fully partake in research in a different state, with different mentors, and a different group of people, and gave me the opportunity to see if research, and beyond that—grad school, PhD programs, etc.—would be something of interest to me. I don’t know if, at a different institution, I would have formed connections as easily to professors or had as easy a time getting to work in a research lab.”

On how the Honors Program here specifically has aided in her growth and experience, Beres remarks, “The Honors Program established connections from the beginning. It gave me an immediate group of friends that I could bond with and enjoy life with”. She also credits the Honors Program leaders, Dr. Mann and Stacey Wanta, for making her experience here the best that it can be, “Both have always been kind to me and have always been there if I had any questions or needed any help, academically or not.”

When asked what advice she would give to students who are considering coming to St. Norbert College or thinking about getting involved on campus, Beres remarks that, “College is a place to learn new things, and some people going into college are going to know exactly what they want to do, and that’s great, however, a lot of people are going to be interested in a lot of things and they’re not going to know what they want to do, and that’s also great, because college is where you’re going to figure that all out – so take part in as many things that seem interesting to you as you want in terms of classes. Don’t be afraid just to try a class and see if you like it. Sometimes finding out what you aren’t interested in tells us more about ourselves than just partaking in things that we are already interested in. So, if something outside of academics sounds fun too, go for it! Go join intramurals corn hole if you think it would be fun,” she laughs, “or go join a club that maybe you are unfamiliar with that you would like to be a part of, or go join Group Guitar even though you’ve never played a guitar string in your life just because you want to learn!”. Beres believes in trying things and being involved not because you feel like you should — or not trying things because you think that it doesn’t apply to you— she believes in joining activities and doing whatever it is that seems interesting to you just because it sounds fun!

In addition to her awesome on-campus involvements, Beres got the opportunity to spend this summer in El Paso, Texas, working on a project that combined fieldwork, molecular lab work, and computational analysis to study population genetic structure and demography in 43 species of borderland birds inhabiting the Madrean Sky Islands. On how she landed this exceptional and unique opportunity, Beres said, “I received an email from Dr. Brandt because I worked in his molecular biology lab. An email was sent to everybody in the lab and it just had forwarded information about an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program taking place in the Chihuahuan desert. I looked at the email, read what the criteria was to apply, and I saw that I actually met all the criteria, and I shot him an email back and said ‘I think I’m going to apply!’ Once I sent that email, I took the next steps to request letters of recommendation and started my application. I was warned that REU programs were very selective and that I shouldn’t be disappointed if I didn’t get in because there are a lot of applicants and very few spaces. I spent a weekend or two working on the application and submitted it, and, to be honest, I didn’t expect to get in. Mid- April, I got an email saying I was accepted into the CDB-REU program taking place in the summer of 2021. There’s a lot of times in my life where I’m like, ‘okay, I’m not going to apply because I don’t think I’ll get it,’ but this one, I was like, ‘I actually think I meet the criteria and I think I’d really enjoy it — because it emphasized that I’d be doing fieldwork — and I was like ‘it’s not going to hurt me to try.’” Regarding what she took away from this experience, Beres notes that, “I took away how important it is to have a mentor and how much you can benefit from learning from somebody else, but also how much you can benefit from being independent in the lab and learning to solve problems on your own – whether it be spending half the day doing Google searches to learn how to use a new software and program, or just experimenting and seeing what happens. I also learned that I like having to hold myself accountable to complete the project because it was just me, as the research assistant, and then the mentor I was working under in the lab, and I really liked the opportunity to kind of be on my own and it made me want to have a lab of my own some day. I also learned the importance of building friendships, especially with people in different disciplines than you because you can learn a lot from people in realms of science that are different from your specific realm. For example, my realm is biology, and I can learn a lot from the chemists and the physicists. I also took away a lot about graduate school and how the process works and scholarships and affording higher education beyond your undergraduate degree.”

Prior to her research in Texas, Beres had the opportunity to work in the lab of Dr. Brandt — a Biology professor at St. Norbert College— – researching red-shouldered hawks. She explained that, “We did non-invasive DNA collection. Dr. Brandt and some other people before me collected shed feathers from red-shouldered hawks in north-eastern Wisconsin and then DNA was extracted from those feathers. Last year, my partner and I worked on determining the birds’ gender, and to do that we ran PCR and gel electrophoresis. The next step was to sequence the DNA and trace birds back to specific nesting sites and determine the relationships (heredity patterns to each other) among the birds so that we can ultimately preserve their species.” On how she landed this opportunity, Beres recounts, “I went onto the St. Norbert College Biology Department Faculty webpage and I read information about all the biology professors currently on campus. The research interests of the professors are listed on the webpage and Dr. Brandt’s appealed to me because it was about conservation and involved some genetics and fieldwork. Fieldwork is something that has appealed to me for a long time. After reading about Dr. Brandt’s research, I sent him an email and shared why I was interested in what he was interested in and asked if there would be a space for me to help him with that. We scheduled a meeting and he told me what projects were available and I wound up choosing the one on red hawks because he said that he could use another helping hand.” Beres still participates in this research, but so far, she has learned that she, “wanted to be part of more research, participate in an REU program, have that opportunity to explore in the lab, and especially work towards conservation efforts.”

In the spring, Beres will be taking part in a study abroad research program where she will have the opportunity to design and implement her own study as she researches in Panama. She is looking forward to “going on excursions to highland forests, indigenous territories, conservation institutes, marine ecosystems, and national parks. Something especially appealing to me about the research that I will conduct is its strong emphasis on field work. This means that I will get to travel and collect data outside of the laboratory! I am also looking forward to staying with host families. Since I will be traveling around a lot, I will have the opportunity to interact (and stay with) 6 different host families. Oh! And I am also looking forward to the Easter season! Spanish-speaking countries celebrate the months leading up to Easter with more festivities than we do in the U.S.A. I am especially excited to partake in Carnival!”. Reflecting on how this experience will prepare her for her future endeavors, she states, “Conducting research independently in Panama will provide me with connections and prepare me for what is to come next! Who knows, if I like it enough there, maybe I’ll try to find an internship and stay for the summer too!”.

Through her various and vast on-campus involvements and exciting and adventurous research initiatives, Bonnie Raechal Beres is one outstanding individual and member of the St. Norbert College community and Honors Program. She emphasizes putting her time and efforts where she finds most meaningful and joyful and encourages us to try new things that sound fun, make new connections with people who are different from us, and go after our dreams even if the chances seem low. Thank you, Bonnie Raechal Beres, for sharing your exciting journey and unique perspective on academics, involvement, and opportunities with us!