Page 11 - CEMS News Summer 2020

GIVING MATTERS
Endowed fellowships elevate student experience
Recipients share how generosity is shaping their education.
Gabriela Diaz, MSE
First-Year Graduate Fellowship
“I am originally from Puerto Rico, but spent most of my life in Corpus Christi, Texas. I first attended community college at Del Mar College, earning an Associate’s degree in math and chemistry
and finished with a chemical engineering degree from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. My chief driving force for chemical engineering, and later, materials science, was my interest in art conservation from being in my
mom’s framing workshop. Watching her treatment of various works of art made me question how
the materials involved ensured the artwork’s longevity. I chose to pursue a graduate degree within materials science to not only find answers to my questions from my childhood, but also to have the ability to lead my own projects in the future.
While my research now doesn’t involve paintings or sculptures, it still involves conservation of the greatest work of art that exists, our planet. I want to help in changing how plastics are handled by opening up routes of mixed plastic recycling.
Fellowship funding is definitely a huge relief of financial stress. With this generous gift, I’m able to put all my focus on learning as much as possible through my courses and doing the most
I can for my research. Knowing that my first year of graduate school would be fully funded was also a large contributing factor in my decision to attend school here at the University of Minnesota.”
Wan-Ju Hsu, ChE
Curtis M. & Joyce P. Stendahl Fellowship
“I am from Taoyuan, Taiwan. Influenced by my parents’ work, I was taught to develop the ability to solve problems by myself. That independence also affected my choice to major in engineering. Chemical engineers vow to help people achieve better lives through improving the smallest everyday objects.
To accomplish my goal of becoming a chemical engineer, I hope to cultivate independent thinking abilities and
interdisciplinary communication skills while here as a graduate student.
Attending a graduate school in
the United States was a dream for me, but the high cost of living and tuition would have placed a heavy burden on my parents. With the help of CEMS fellowship support,
I can focus more on my studies, research, and extracurricular activities and less time worrying about my finances. Thank you very much for helping me study the fields of chemical engineering and materials science more deeply.”
Wan-Ju Hsu
Gabriela Diaz
Zach Schmitz, ChE
Jacqueline & Richard Schmeal Fellowship
Zach Schmitz
“I was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I am a first- generation college graduate, and the first in my entire extended family to pursue a PhD. I graduated with a double major in chemical engineering and biology from MIT in 2019 and am passionate about developing novel biological drugs in a more efficient manner in order to improve clinical outcomes.
I chose the CEMS department for my graduate studies due to
its strong legacy of collaboration and openness, in addition to my top-choice potential advisor
in chemical-biological engineering working here. I hope to refine my abilities as a scientist to identify and pursue ongoing questions in my field, such as novel methods to explore the complex genotype-phenotype landscape in developing better antibiotics or biological drugs.
Fellowship support has helped me to focus on my classes, get a head start in lab, and begin to define potential compelling research directions.”
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