Encouraging the Next Generation

Later this week, I will have the privilege to talk with 12 undergraduate chemistry majors about my career. What is nice about this opportunity is that I don't have to "sale" these students on science, because they have already chosen chemistry as a major. However, what I do wish to emphasize to this group of students is how my graduate education opened many doors for my career.

One of my good friends pointed out to me previously that graduate school is not for everybody. She is absolutely correct about that. You have to want to be there and you have to figure out how to motivate yourself to stay. It is not easy, and there were many days that I wanted to give up, but through mentoring and support, I stayed and achieved my goal.

I decided to pursue chemistry as a major over 20 years ago, and I do not regret it. Would I do things a little differently with my career since I am a little older and wiser? I honestly don't know, but one thing is for sure science and technology is incredibility important to our society. Why is science so important? Well, the recent Gulf oil spill is a sad example of why good science and technology (and common sense) are so crucial.

Thanks for reading!

Brina

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