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What brought me back to the classroom?
Honestly, it was a combination of things. First, my USI chemistry professors (Dr. Hankins, Dr. Krahling, and Dr. Seyler) contacted me about teaching a night class at USI when they heard I was moving back in the Evansville area. I wanted to give something back to USI (and the chemistry department) because I was awarded a top-notch four-year education at USI. I also was given the knowledge and confidence to succeed in graduate school and beyond in my career as a scientist.
Second, I wanted to have fun by teaching chemistry in my own style while maintaining an up-to-date knowledge of chemistry at the collegiate level. I get a huge smile on my face every time I walk through the new science wing at USI. A lot of things have changed since I was a student seven years ago!
The quality of education at USI should be considered equal to top institutions in the country, especially the chemistry department. When I arrived at graduate school at Southern Mississippi, my colleagues were student scholars from around the country. They came from small chemistry departments like USI and huge chemistry departments from Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) universities. However, it didn't take long to realize that I knew more chemistry than 90 percent of my new colleagues, because USI had prepared me better for graduate school.
There have been three or four other USI graduates who also have been at the top of their graduate school classes at Southern Mississippi. USI gave me the right education in the right subjects with outstanding teachers, and this gave me a great deal of confidence in my abilities as a scientist and a gentleman.
In the last three years, I have published six articles in scientific journals, one book chapter, and I have presented my scientific work in Washington, D.C., San Diego, and New Orleans. I filed three U.S. patents last year, and I plan to file three more U.S. patents this year. I am 28 years old, and I am having a blast.
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