Kecoughtan student partners with Nicaragua professor on fish study

Bera Koklu, a senior at Kecoughtan High, is working on a fish study for his Governor’s School mentorship with Dr. Jeffrey McCrary, a professor from Nicaragua.

McCrary says, Bera is helping to analyze a data set which questions the environmental impacts in lake Apoyo on endangered fish species nesting and survival. He explains that the overarching issue is how are invasive species impacting the fish. He is looking at ways to count nests and fish. McCrary recently met with Bera on a visit to Kecoughtan High School.

“I want to start doing research and performing research with a mentor to learn how that scientific process flows,” shared Bera. “Ultimately, I would like to go the medical route, and this is a great experience that will help me follow my passion.”

Bera enjoys working out, reading philosophy books, developing games, and hanging out with his friends in his spare time. He has been accepted in biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech, as well as an Echols scholar at the University of Virginia.