PhD, Moore Group
Activities: DCGSAC, AMS Group (Autonomous Materials Systems Group through the Beckman Institute), ETC (Encouraging Tomorrow's Chemists), Women Chemists Committee
Research: My Original Research Proposal was "Block Copolymer-Derived Ceramics: A Tailored Approach for Ultra-High Temperature Materials." At that time, I was really interested in a career at a national lab and was inspired by some work being done on ultra-high temperature materials. I was able to find some interesting intersections between polymers and ceramics.
Future: I just started as a Senior Research Chemist at 3M!
You are an Illinois PhD alum! It feels awesome!!!
Secret to success: I won't lie: graduate school is hard and imposter syndrome can feel overwhelming. There is a ton of pressure to perform at a high level at all times; we often hold ourselves to a standard where we think we need to know everything. I really think that my success started to come when I started accepting that it was okay to not have all the answers. I began to ask more questions in group meetings, among colleagues, etc. In my opinion, real growth happens when you recognize your weaknesses not as failures, but as opportunities to learn more.
Advice to graduate students: Find a supportive group of friends both inside and outside of the chemistry department. It's great to have friends that know exactly what you're going through, but it's also nice to have friends in other fields (or even outside of the university). I joined the Second Wind Running club during my first year of grad school and it provided me with the structure I needed to maintain a good work/life balance. Plus, blowing off steam on a run can feel pretty good too!
Why Chemistry at Illinois? The breadth of research and the opportunities to collaborate. During my visit weekend, I saw a lot of Illinois Chemistry students who were friends with/working with students in other departments. I loved the idea of working in an interdisciplinary team and was able to do just that through the Beckman Institute.
PhD highlight? The other graduate students and post docs that I met are truly one of a kind. There exists a very diverse range of thoughts and experiences, both in life and in science. They all contributed to my evolution not just as a scientist, but also as a human being.