As the 2019 soccer season approaches, GoAugie.com spoke with five Vikings who spent their summers with internships and the WPSL around the area. This five-part series will run once a week for four weeks leading up to the team's report date of Sunday, August 18th.

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After being a reliable goalkeeper during her freshman campaign, Meghan Kuntz has had a busy summer conducting in-depth research. GoAugie.com caught up with the sophomore to see exactly what she has been studying.

What type of research are you conducting this summer?
This summer I am working with animal placentas (cow, pig, and sheep) and measuring their ability to inhibit bacterial growth.
 
What are some of the challenges with the research?
The first few weeks of research are challenging because there is just so much that you don't know and you have to learn it fast. Since I am going to be a sophomore, I only had one year of introductory biology and chemistry classes. So, before research, I didn't really know that much about placentas or bacteria, but learned a lot about placentas and bacteria during the first week. Most of the equipment we use to run experiments were all new to me as well, but the professors and other senior research students helped me learn how to use them. Now my partner and I can run a lot of the experiments independently, which is a lot of fun. 
 
The biggest research challenge right now is figuring out how to separate the placenta into the different macromolecules and figuring out what is actually inhibiting the bacterial growth. Research is a trial and error process, which is sometimes frustrating. There are many different experiments that we ran that just didn't work or turned out different than we expected, so we planned new experiments based off of those results. Research is also collaborative so there are many times when we go to talk to other professors with different areas of knowledge who suggest ways that might help us. 
 
What do you do for fun in your spare time this summer?
In my spare time I catch up on sleep and hang out with the other soccer players who are in Sioux Falls over the summer. We go get ice cream and watch tv shows together, like the bachelorette and stranger things.
 
What are you most excited about for this Fall season?
I am most excited for the competitiveness of season and for all the team bonding we do throughout the fall.
 
The Vikings report to campus this Sunday, August 18 and start practicing the following day. Augustana's first game is on September 6 against Fort Hays State at 5:00 PM in Sioux Falls at Morstad Field. 
 
Read previous installments below:
Part one: Erin Schneiderhan (Wednesday, July 17)
Part two: Alexis Legg (Wednesday, July 24)
Part three: Grace Bender (Wednesday, July 31)
Part four: Peyton Stenzel (Wednesday, August 7)