Junior science major picked as Lebanon Valley College’s 3rd Goldwater Scholar

A Lebanon Valley College junior from Hegins has been named LVC’s third Goldwater Scholar by The Barry Goldwater Scholarship in Education Foundation.

Maddisyn Behney, who expects to graduate in 2026, is a Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Environmental Science double major.

The Goldwater Scholarship program provides scholarships to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. The Goldwater Foundation helps to ensure that the U.S. produces highly qualified professionals in these fields.

Previously, LVC students Christian Lantz (2021) and Brandon Roy (2020) received the honor, and Robert Tesoriero (2019) was an honorable mention in 2018.

According to a release from the college, Behney has been “intricately involved” in student-faculty research as an undergraduate, working with Dr. Rebecca Urban, director of environmental science and a professor of biology, and Dr. Liz Sterner, assistant professor of chemistry, during her initial research. The work used in her Goldwater application was conducted with Urban, Sterner, and Dr. Robert Carey, a professor of biology who has conducted student-faculty research with Behney for more than a year.

Behney highlighted her research and wrote the Goldwater essay about her research with Carey. She has also worked extensively with Jennifer Thornsberry (2014), a biology lab technician, as a lab teaching assistant in her general biology labs and caretaker in the college greenhouse.

“Maddi is one of the best research students I have ever mentored and is an incredibly talented young scientist,” Carey said in the release. “She is interested in evolutionary genetics, particularly in plants, and has meticulously documented her data, explored the literature, and established observations that will be presented at regional conferences, with later intentions to publish. I have no doubt she will be a successful researcher, and we will all benefit from her work in the future.”

Behney, a regular Dean’s List honoree at LVC, has also served as a first-year mentor, peer tutor, and resident assistant. She participated in summer scientific research in 2023 and 2024, presented student-faculty research during the college’s annual Inquiry Symposium, and received LVC’s prestigious Beta Beta Beta First-Year and Sophomore Achievement Awards in Biology and Sophomore Achievement Award in Chemistry. Behney was inducted into Tri Beta, the Biology Department honor society.

Behney intends to pursue a Ph.D. in plant biology and conduct research in plant genomics afterward. Her goal is to teach at the university level.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Senator Barry Goldwater, who served for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate.