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The 2026 Three Minute Thesis final competition will be held Jan. 29, from 4 to 6 p.m.

What is the best way to distill a multitude of information into just three minutes?

That’s the question eleven graduate students will be wrestling with as part of the Graduate School’s ninth annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which will be held in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom on Jan. 29, 2026, from 4 to 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but .

This event challenges each student to explain their thesis to the general public. They are then evaluated by a panel of judges, which this year include Lori Bergen, dean of the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information; Sammy Ramsey or "Dr. Sammy," an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a science communicator, and an international 3MT winner; Leopold Beuken, an assistant teaching professor in robotics and a former ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder 3MT finalist; and Aaron Brockett, the City of Boulder mayor.

In the days leading up to the event, we’ll feature each of the competitors. Today’s is Loraine Glidewell, a doctoral candidate in education who researches teacher learning, research and practice. Her 3MT presentation's title is, "From Fish Guts to Fireflies: Finding the Magic of Rural Education in Pre-Service Teacher Learning."

If you had to describe your research in one sentence, what would you say?

It's really about exploring what teacher preparation can do for rural education, and what rural education can do for teacher preparation.

What do you feel is the significance of your research to the every day audience?

I'd like to believe that everyone has experienced having that one teacher who made an impact on who they are today. Teachers are some of the most important people on the planet. And there are a lot of kids out in rural places who really need teachers. My research is about seeing what becomes possible for pre-service teachers when they have the chance to learn about the magical and mysterious world of teaching and learning in rural schools.Ìý

What did you do before coming to ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder for graduate school?

I taught middle school science in the San Luis Valley.

What led you to pursue your doctoral degree in your field of study?

My students inspired me. I was so lucky to get to teach where I taught, but especially who I taught. In a small town, you get to watch your students grow up. And I had the best students. It was really hard to teaching positions go unfilled and taught by a rotation of substitute teachers. My students were bright and funny and so deserving of teachers who could see that in them. They actually encouraged me to be here, to work on teacher shortages in rural areas.

What is your favorite thing about the research you do?

My north star has always been my students out in the San Luis Valley, I am here because of them. I think what I love most about my research is that I've never lost my way. I get to share stories with pre-service teachers about how my students made me laugh, made me cry, and completely inspired me. I even get to see a student who I taught when they were a in middle-school out in the San Luis Valley, here at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder on this very campus and we have been walking together almost every Friday catching up on life. I love that my research is deeply connected to the students that I was so lucky to teach, and to the many rural students our there across Colorado and the country.Ìý

What are your hobbies/what do you enjoy doing outside of your academic work?

Outside of my academic work I love to go fishing. My dad taught me how to fish when I was a little girl, and I love when I go fishing with my boyfriend and catch a bigger fish than he does. And here's something awesome about being a rural teacher, when I was teaching out in the San Luis Valley, my principal and I would go kayak the Rio Grande River and go fishing together after work.

Tell us a random fact about yourself

I used to work at the Gator Farm. Yep, there are alligators in Colorado! It was one of the best jobs I ever had while I was in college. Oh, I also got a fish hook in my eye when I was a kid. Treble hook, yellow red dot panther martin, in the eyeball.Ìý