Two first-gen undergrads present at national conference

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two Penn State first-generation undergraduates brought their research to a national stage in April, presenting at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Richmond, Virginia.

Donna Hercules and Kaelonnah Darlich are both active in the first-gen community at University Park, helping others who are the first in their immediate family to pursue a bachelor’s degree.

Unlike most academic exhibitions and meetings, NCUR invites presenters from all institutions of higher learning and disciplines, with between 3,500 and 4,000 attendees each year. Fifty-two Penn Staters were accepted to NCUR 2026.

Donna Hercules

Hercules, of Staten Island, New York, graduated in May with bachelor’s degree in biobehavioral health and minors in human biology and diversity and inclusion. From 2024 to 2025, she worked in the lab under Daniel Cosgrove, professor and Eberly Family Chair in Biology, performing a variety of duties in what she described as a supportive atmosphere.

“I can't even explain how much support my research lab has given me,” she said. “I've made great personal connections as well as academic connections. I've learned how a research lab works, how papers are written, how manuscripts are written.”

Beyond that, she said her lab was a welcoming place for a first-generation student.

“One thing I really appreciate about my lab is that many of them are immigrants, and that's something that I really deeply resonate with,” she said. “My family are immigrants, and being a first-generation college student and being first-generation American is something that I know a lot of people experience, but that was something I was happy to talk about in my research lab.”

Her research project in the Cosgrove Lab studied how a molecule called xyloglucan and found in plant cell walls affects plant root and plant wall development.

“Basically, I observed four different types of plants and how some of them had different genes and how those genes were expressed in their plant wall growth,” Hercules said.

While presenting at NCUR was a great chance to share her own work, what also had a big impact on her was learning about research in fields very different from her own.

“It was such a cool experience,” she said of attending NCUR. “I feel like I've only been around STEM research, and I got to see art history and humanities research, and that was so interesting. ... And that was something that I never experienced.”

Hercules served as the vice president of events for First-Gen Advocates, a Penn State student organization that works to create a welcoming, supportive community for other first-gen students.

Kaelonnah Darlich

Darlich, of Littlestown, is a biology major on the ecology track with minors in marine science and American Sign Language. She is also a Millennium Scholar and one of this year’s Stand Up Award recipients.

Her research in entomology focuses on the impact of simulated heat waves on monarch butterfly development, reproduction and mate selection under the guidance of Mônica Kersch-Becker, assistant professor of arthropod ecology. Darlich has been interested in monarchs since she and her mom raised butterflies in their home.

“Because of that experience, it set the foundation of me wanting to be a scientist, without us knowing at the time, which is why I am constantly motivated to make science accessible for all audiences,” Darlich said.

She said undergraduate research has given her confidence and described it as “life-changing.”

"I think being involved in undergraduate research at Penn State, I feel more accomplished than I ever have before presenting my own independent research at conferences this year,” she said. “Especially ending this year at NCUR, it was very motivational for me to know I am able to take up space in these academic spaces, I can be there and showcase what I have to offer.”

Like Hercules, Darlich said she appreciated the chance at NCUR to learn about research outside of STEM, specifically art history.

“That was something that I thought was great about NCUR, was how broad it is,” Darlich said. “Meeting new people was amazing. I was also able to communicate with other graduate schools that I am considering.”

In addition to her identity as first-generation, Darlich said she’s proud of being a woman in STEM.

“I have navigated spaces where my femininity is often seen as a weakness, especially when it comes to field work,” she said. “I had one person in a research lab interview tell me I look too feminine for field work, and I think that me being as stubborn as I am, I was not going to let that hold me back.”

She said she proudly wears her red suit and heels to academic exhibitions and enjoys seeing other women be confident and bold.

“I just think that when you have so many loud voices of positivity, it can drown out the negative comments,” she said.

Outside of her academic work, Darlich is the president of the Eta Psi chapter of Tri-Alpha, a national honor society celebrating academic achievement and leadership within the first-generation community.

In fall 2025, there were 19,221 first-generation undergraduate students at Penn State, according to Penn State’s Data Digest. Of those, 1,962 were part time and 17,259 full time.

The Penn State Chaiken Center for Student Success supports first-generation students at the University Park campus. Staff in the center serve as advisors to Tri-Alpha and the First-Gen Advocates student organizations. The center organizes the annual First-Gen Student Support Summit, bringing together Penn State faculty, staff, students and advocates to explore strategies that support first-generation student success. It also coordinates campus-wide events such as the First-Gen Community Celebration and First-Gen College Celebration.

The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Mentoring (URFM) supports Penn State students interested in presenting their research at NCUR 2027 which will be held April 12-14, 2027, at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in partnership with Grand Valley State University. Abstract submissions are expected to open in September 2026. Students must submit an abstract by the deadline in late fall. URFM can help students prepare competitive abstracts. To learn more or get started, email urfm@psu.edu.

About the Chaiken Centers at Penn State

Gene (Penn State class of 1962) and Roz Chaiken are the generous benefactors of five success centers at Penn State. In 2021, they created the Chaiken Center for Student Success in the College of the Liberal Arts — a center designed to provide students with the resources, programming, and other support needed to help them succeed in their studies. A subsequent gift in 2024 led to the naming of four additional Chaiken Centers across the University: the Penn State Chaiken Center for Student Success in Undergraduate Education, the Chaiken Center for Student Success in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, the Chaiken Center for Student Success at Penn State World Campus, and the Chaiken Center for Student Success at Penn State Abington.