This past summer, members of Gannon University BBB gathered in beautiful, sunny Puerto Rico for the National Biannual Research convention sponsored by Tri-Beta. One member of the chapter, Cory Davidson, performed an oral research presentation.  The other members in attendance were Mike Valente, chapter President, Kelly Becker, Vice President of Service, Mindy Ostovic, Treasurer, Scott Lindsay, Mark Fetkovich, and Stefanie Jennings.  While in attendance, we were able to take part in the many attractions that Puerto Rico had to offer. We visited the cities of Ponce and San Juan.  We took part in a trip into the Mangrove Islands to go snorkeling in crystal clear water!  We also went to El Yunque, the Caribbean National Rainforest, and witnessed some of the most amazing sights we have ever seen, from uncommon flowers to beautiful waterfalls.  Hopefully the next trip will be as much of a success!(PICTURES COMING SOON!!)
 
 

For the past few years the Theta Omega chapter has had the opportunity of shadowing. Interested students now have the privilege to shadow physicians in Fast Track at St. Vincent Health Center in Erie, PA. Fast Track is a walk in clinic with a family medicine focus. Students are allowed to follow a physician and get hands on knowledge of what medicine has to offer. They are exposed to certain aspects such as interpreting X-rays, correlating lab results, and learning how to deal with patients on a professional basis. Students have given high praises to this program as well as the physicians involved. The physicians most involved in getting this program running are Dr. Christopher Yonko, chairman of the Fast Track Department and Dr. Mark Vatavuk, a staff physician in Fast Track.
 
 

Members of Tri-Beta not only are involved in research and scholarship opportunities, but also can get together and have in activities outside of school. One such activity is hockey games. Every so often members can get together and enjoy a hockey game just a few blocks from campus. There is nothing like a little puck shooting and good old fashioned tearin' limb from limb fighting to relax you after a hard day.
 
 

Biology day is an idea which has been going on several years now. This is where we invite high school students from area schools to see what the Biology department at Gannon has to offer. This is a day long event where we have tours of the campus facilities, interactions with students and faculty about Gannnon, lunch, and lectures about specific areas in biology. Students are shown classrooms and laboratory areas and can have hands on experience while they visit Gannon. The response from both University members and high school students have been very positive toward this program. It gives high school students a chance to find out what is out there after high school and what an education in Biology at Gannon University will give them in the years to come.
 
 

The Golden Harvest Food Drive is one of the many community service events that members of BBB are involved. This is run by the Erie County Food Bank and it involves students going to area homes and asking for food donations. Students from BBB as well as the many other Gannon organizations go door to door asking for people to donate. The response has been tremendous and the Food Bank has been quite successful with this program.
 
 

The speaker series at BBB is a successful program that allows people to listen to speakers who are in the field of Biology. One of the main questions people have is "What can I do with my degree in Biology?" To help students answer this question, we have gathered many Gannon faculty as well as professionals from the Erie area to discuss the benefits of their particular field and how they decided to get involved with that career in the first place. The diversity of experience has ranged from careers in botanical management, medicine, forensic science, medical education, and so on. This gives professionals a chance to help students in their career choices and to answer questions students may have. Our hope is to offer to Gannon students information and opportunities for after graduation and to help answer the age-old question, "What is all out there?"
 
 

The picnic at Scott Park is a fun and relaxing way to spend a weekend afternoon.  This is a time Tri-Beta students and faculty have a chance to get together in an informal way.  It's always a good time when you're having a cookout and playing games!  All in all the picnic at Scott Park is always a fun place to be.