{"id":51619,"date":"2023-07-12T09:11:38","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T13:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=51619"},"modified":"2023-11-04T10:34:19","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T14:34:19","slug":"planting-seeds-of-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/07\/planting-seeds-of-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Planting SEEDs of transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UTC

UTC student Zayda Dominick, right, works with high school student Kenneth Sontay Vicente in Grote Hall. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

In Kenneth Sontay Vicente\u2019s words, \u201cScientists are cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean this is childish, but I\u2019ve always admired them. I think lab coats look amazing and I want to eventually have one,\u201d said Vicente, who graduated in May from East Ridge High School.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s cool is more than just looks, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love chemistry. It\u2019s the career path I want to go into. I want to be a chemical engineer or somewhere in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vicente\u2019s love of chemistry\u2014lab coats included\u2014led him to spend eight weeks at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as part of the American Chemical Society Summer Experiences for the Economically Disadvantaged (SEED) project.<\/p>\n

The national program sponsors participation by high school students from lower-income families in paid summer research opportunities to encourage participants to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.<\/p>\n

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Click here to learn about the UTC Department of Chemistry and Physics<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Vicente and three students from Heritage High School in Ringgold, Georgia, are in the SEED program this summer, working with four professors and alongside UTC undergraduates on research projects involving cancer detection, the prevention of diseases and dealing with bacterial infections.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly believe\u2014and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe this\u2014getting an undergraduate degree in science is going to provide lifelong employment for these kids,\u201d said Dr. Keenan Dungey, head of the UTC Department of Chemistry and Physics and one of the professors in the SEED program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the American dream. They’re going to be able to provide for their family and improve the standard of living for their family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The four students\u2014all selected by officials at the American Chemical Society\u2014are paid $4,000 each over the eight weeks, working from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Funds for the campus program come from the Department of Chemistry and Physics, the UTC Division of Diversity and Engagement and the American Chemical Society, Dungey said.<\/p>\n

UTC joined the SEED program in 2022. Vinesah Goodwin has been part of it for two summers, solidifying her plans to major in chemistry when she enrolls at UTC after graduating in May 2024 from Heritage High.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a big interest in chemistry, but I wasn’t planning on majoring in it until I came here last summer,\u201d she said. \u201cI enjoy being in the lab and learning how to do different things and learning the math and everything. I just find that really enjoyable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conducting research with Dr. Jared Pienkos, assistant professor in chemistry at UTC, Goodwin said she\u2019d like a career in medical research. He hopes what she learns in the SEED program will help her achieve that goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m hoping to teach her how to be an independent researcher so she can pick something to study and how to do proper experimentation and analyze all the data,\u201d he said. \u201cThe research here really teaches creative critical-thinking skills, and that’s what I want to pass on to Vinesah.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Want to learn more about chemistry and physics scholarships? Click here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Maggie Chen, another Heritage student planning to graduate in 2024, said she\u2019s interested in environmental studies and knows chemistry \u201cis kind of the basis of everything,\u201d and that lab work is a large part of the SEED program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would be interesting to go in-depth and see what goes on in the lab,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dungey described this year\u2019s students as \u201camazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt told me that we have great faculty that can mentor these students, but it also told me these students are really capable and, if we give them the opportunity, they could go far. And this is giving them that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Faculty<\/strong><\/p>\n