Texas A&M University-Victoria student Franchesca Quezon Calero, left; Humberto Hernandez, center, associate professor and director of biology; and Aleck Servin, a biology student, pose in front of research posters on Nov. 14 at the Office of Undergraduate Research (O.U.R.) Fall Conference held at Lamar University. Hernandez attended the conference as the plenary speaker. In his lecture, titled "A Journey Through Ocular Research and Resilience," Hernandez shared a personal and inspiring narrative. As a first-generation college graduate, he reflected on the distinct challenges and rewards of his academic path. He challenged the audience to pursue their passions, reminding students that with perseverance and a clear sense of purpose, every dream is attainable. Calero and Servin were two of three students who presented research during the event. Calero’s research was titled "Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) in the Rotifer Adineta Vaga: Genome-Wide Screening, Phylogenetic Annotation, and Expression in Response to Heat Stress," and Servin’s research was titled "Rhomboid Proteases as Conserved Engines for Parasite Pathogenesis." The third student, Diem Tran, below, presented her research titled “Metabolic Analysis of Medically Significant Plants and Spices.”