CONWAY, Ark. (July 17, 2019)
– Five Hendrix College students explored careers and career paths in
atmospheric chemistry research in an intensive two-week program at Storm Peak
Lab and across the Colorado Front Range.
In 2014, Professor of
Chemistry Courtney D. Hatch ’00 developed Experiences in Professional Research
Organizations and Atmospheric Chemistry at Hendrix (EPROACH) with the support
of the Morris and Ann Henry Odyssey Professorship. The National Science
Foundation currently funds EPROACH, which provides Hendrix students the
opportunity to gain engaged learning credit through the Hendrix Odyssey Program
while exploring their interests in pursuing research careers in the sciences,
with a focus on atmospheric chemistry. Hatch accompanied the students — Cayman Botner ’20, Karen Morris ’21, Krishna
Patel ’21, Olivia Eddings ’21, and Rebecca Parham ’21 — and guided them through
EPROACH activities, including:
- informal meetings with a variety of
research scientists at all stages of their careers
- personal tours of professional and
government laboratories, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the
National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), and the National Ice Core Lab (NICL)
- visits to academic graduate programs at
Colorado State University and the University of Colorado – Boulder
- taking high-altitude atmospheric
measurements at Storm Peak Laboratory atop Mt. Werner in Steamboat Springs,
Colo.
“Visiting a variety of
research facilities allowed me to realize that there are careers out there with
the moral value that I desire,” said Eddings, who plans to focus her career
path on addressing environmental issues. “In addition to this, having the
opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with graduate students, post-docs,
and Ph.D. researchers reminded me of how grateful I am to have a liberal arts
education that can provide me with the interdisciplinary tools to attempt to
better solve environmental issues in a collective way that considers multiple
perspectives.”
Parham recommends EPROACH to
fellow students who are curious about careers in environmental chemistry or
graduate school. “EPROACH has exposed me to different career paths, and also
has provided insight on leading research in the atmospheric chemistry field,”
she said. “In meeting a variety of researchers, I was able to get answers to my
questions about research and graduate school, and even be challenged to answer
new questions about my personal career goals that I hadn’t thought of before. By
the end of the trip, I felt confident in my career ambitions and aware of the
obstacles I may face as a future researcher.”
Hatch created EPROACH in
response to her own lack of awareness of the vast array of fields and careers
in the environmental sciences as an undergraduate.
“It is true that you don’t
know what you don’t know. The intended outcome of this program is to expose
students to career pathways, research opportunities, graduate programs, and
technical and professional skills that pave the way to successful careers in
the chemical and geochemical sciences,” she said. “My hope is that the students
who participated in EPROACH this year are now more aware of opportunities for
research careers and will give themselves time to reflect on the experience to
help them gain a greater understanding of their future role in the sciences.”
About
Hendrix College
A private liberal arts
college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as
one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.