FARGO - A North Dakota State University professor who traveled to Mississippi last fall to watch a football game came back with more than a Bison victory. He found a research team.

Deland Myers, director of NDSU's food systems program, is the faculty representative to the NCAA and regularly travels with the Bison football team. Last season, he and his wife, Eveadean Myers, the school's diversity officer, took the 1,200-mile trek to Itta Bena, Miss., where NDSU blew out Mississippi Valley State 58-7.

All was not lost for the Delta Devils, however.

During the trip, Deland and Eveadean came up with the idea of starting an exchange program to give science students a chance to work on research projects they can't do at the smaller Mississippi schools they attend. The couple also liked the idea of promoting diversity.

"Most of them are from the southeast and have never come this far north," Deland Myers said. "This gives them the experience of being in North Dakota … the cultural life, the landscape."

Ten students, all of them women, from Mississippi Valley State, and one student from nearby Delta State qualified for the eight-week internship. All have cumulative grade-point averages of 3.42 or higher. They each are receiving a $4,000 stipend.

The program includes projects in food safety, plant science, biology, pharmacology, microbiology, and cereal and food science. The students will present their research findings at the end of the program.

The students spend most of their time in the lab, but Monday mornings are reserved for seminars to help them prepare for research presentations, graduate school and the working world. It also gives Deland Myers the chance to recruit.

"One or more of you will probably end up standing where I'm at one of these days," he tells the students. "You'll have Ph.D.s and you'll be professors at universities."

Many of the students say the program has helped them make decisions on their futures. "It has enlightened me," said Candace Lee. Elizabeth Muriuki, an intern in food safety and science, said she now plans to pursue a career in research.

"Before I came here, I wasn't exactly that big on research," said Muriuki, who attends Delta State. "Through the experience I've had at NDSU, it has helped me out extremely."

Muriuki is studying molds that grow in certain foods.

"Eventually, we want to make the mold out to be something that can help humans rather than something that's killing them," she said.

Krystina McCleary, a biology major, is working on experiments with the NDSU psychology department, including the way brain waves react to certain tasks.

"I've worked with a lot of equipment I've never seen before," McCleary said. "I think I've gained a lot of valuable information."

Ursula Johns, who plans to be a pediatrician, said the internship has been a valuable experience and should look good on her resume. She doesn't plan to spend her days in the lab.

"You can go in there and put your headphones on and stay there all day. You can become a hermit crab doing that," she said.

Edna Lampkin, who's doing experiments in pharmacy, said she doesn't see herself doing full-time research. But she said the experience has motivated her to work harder at her studies.

"It's made me more humble about a lot of stuff," Lampkin said. "I'm blessed to be here. I'm blessed to be in the midst of good people."

Lampkin said she would consider attending NDSU for its highly regarded pharmacy program.

"In some ways, I could see myself coming here, but there's part of me that says it's too far away from home," she said. "If it's meant for me to be here, I'll be here."

It's not all work. The students have gone camping, visited the Mall of America in the Twin Cities, and stuck their toes into the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

"Being able to walk across the Mississippi. That's something I can tell my grandmother about," Lampkin said.

NDSU officials plan to continue the internship program next summer and are considering faculty exchanges. Muriuki said she would like to return someday.

"It's a nice place," Muriuki said. "I'm glad we didn't catch the winter."