From time to time, we like to showcase a new SNC grad who’s entered the workplace or grad school. Success stories like these are pretty common. In fact, 95 percent of SNC's Class of 2022 alumni who responded to a survey said they were employed, in grad school or doing service work within nine months of graduating.

Hometown: Sherwood, Wis.
Graduation year: 2018
Degree: Bachelor of Science (chemistry)
Plans after graduation: Mariah entered the Ph.D. program in environmental chemistry at Florida International University, Fall 2018.

How did you start your journey to graduate school?

My first year at SNC, the Chemistry Club had a panel of faculty members discussing how to get into graduate schools. That was really helpful, because it let me know what I needed to be doing, and undergraduate research was one especially important element of that. The panel gave me a sort of road map to grad school which I found very helpful. They also helped me understand that unlike professional graduate programs, students in research programs typically receive a stipend and have their tuition paid; so they opened my eyes to the affordability of what I hoped to do.

What was your research experience like?

I did summer research with Prof. Russel (Chemistry) after my sophomore year, and then had a fantastic opportunity to do independent study with Prof. Poister (Chemistry). I collected samples from seven different trees for 11 weeks and prepped more than 200 samples to evaluate the data. It was a lot of work, but it gave me a lot more experience in the lab and gave me a chance to present my findings at the Undergraduate Research Forum this April.

What was your relationship with your professors like?

Because of the small class sizes at St. Norbert (some of mine had as few as six students), you develop close relationships with your professors. They’re very dedicated to the success of their students, always willing to help, often engaged with the Chemistry Club. I had three who were kind enough to write letters of recommendation for grad school, which was a big factor in getting accepted.

Any other college experiences that helped prep you for grad school?

I worked various jobs on campus as a student, and one was in the office of communications. While I was there, I was able to develop my writing skills by working on the college magazine. It’s very important as a researcher to be able to communicate your findings to the rest of the academic community, so this was another boost for my career aspirations.