German international student balances track, school, and research

January 27, 2026

A multi-event track athlete, researcher, and lab assistant, international biology student Amelie Steins balances her chronically full schedule through discipline, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I don't have a lot of free time, but I enjoy everything I'm doing," she said.

During the week, Steins is busy attending classes and practicing for her many track events. On the weekends, she focuses on biology research and work.

Coming from Germany, Steins' transition to college in the U.S. presented additional challenges, as she wasn't just living on her own for the first time; she was also adjusting to a new country, culture, and a colder climate.

"My whole freshman year was really about adapting," Steins said. "Everything was new."

But by her sophomore year, she felt better prepared and really settled into life as a student-athlete at Dakota State.

Originally recruited as a sprinter for DSU, one of Steins' track coaches, Alex Glover, convinced her to try being a multi-event track athlete. While she was unsure about the transition at first, she now participates in sprinting, hurdles, high jump, long jump, shotput, and the javelin.

She's glad she stuck with it, and counts an outdoor track conference in Dickinson, North Dakota, as one of her favorite DSU memories so far. In her sophomore season she qualified for nationals and traveled to Indiana to compete.

But being a track athlete is only part of her busy schedule; the rest of the time, she's in the classroom cultivating her passion for science.

Both of Steins' parents attended medical school, which sparked her interest in the medical field. "They always told me that I would be a good researcher, so I took their advice and decided to major in biology," she said.

At DSU, she was introduced to coding through teammates and a biotechnology class, which she enjoyed so much that she added a bioinformatics minor to her biology major and chemistry minor. The logical, problem-solving nature of bioinformatics, and its combination of biology with coding and data analysis, are exciting, Steins shared.

This inspired her to get more involved by participating in research projects and assisting with science outreach events. She's appreciative of how supportive Professor Andrew Sathoff is to her and fellow science majors.

"He's doing really great work, especially with all of the biology students," Steins said. "He gets us good opportunities for networking and helps us do our own research projects, providing mentorship."

Last summer, Sathoff gave Steins the opportunity to develop bioinformatics activities for middle and high school students for an outreach event. She developed lessons on evolution using phylogenetic trees to show how different species are related.

"It was really rewarding to see how curious students are, especially middle schoolers," she said.

Steins is also a member of the TriBeta Club, a student science-focused honor society that hosts youth outreach events and invites speakers to campus.

This year, Steins is conducting a student research project under the mentorship of Dr. Sathoff entitled "Exploring Environmental Bacteriophages for Mycobacterial and Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Pathogen Control."

She's thankful for the opportunity to have access to hands-on science coursework and to conduct research as an undergraduate student.

"At DSU, you can really be free in what you want to research," she explained. "You can create your own project."

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