Christine Endicott: Eyes on a Biotech Career
When she was evaluating her degree options as a student at Essex High School in Vermont, senior (May '08) Christine Endicott initially envisioned molecular biology as the path that would best suit her career aspirations. She ultimately chose to study engineering and, after meeting with faculty in the chemical engineering program who were engaged in exciting biochemical applications, elected to pursue her B.S. in chemical engineering. Read her profile below.
Why Engineering?
"In high school, I was really interested in the applications of biology. At first, I thought that I wanted to be a molecular biology major, but both my parents were engineers and encouraged me to explore engineering. I realized that the technical background would open up a lot of opportunities and decided on that route. I chose chemical engineering after talking to all the professors in the department who focused on biochemical engineering. Learning about their research helped me to realize that to achieve my career goals, I should be a chemical engineer."
Reason for coming to UConn:
"There were a lot of factors that drew me to UConn. First, UConn offers chemical engineering as a major, which the university in my home state, the University of Vermont, did not offer. I was also offered a great scholarship package [including a university Achievement Scholarship]. Once I visited UConn, I saw that it could provide a great overall college experience. Not only were the academics and emphasis on undergraduate research highly attractive, but UConn also had a lot to offer outside of academia."
Impressions:
"I was most impressed by the undergraduate research opportunities available. As a freshman, I was unsure of the specific type of research I wanted to conduct for my honors thesis. I met with various professors in the chemical engineering department, all of whom were extremely helpful. It was impressive that they took time out of their busy days to discuss their research fields with me. Once I decided to work with Professor [Ranjan] Srivastava, I found it was easy to integrate myself into his lab group and I am now working on my own project."
"The undergraduate program at UConn has been thorough and rigorous; I have felt very well prepared for the internships I have done. During my internship at UTC Power, I worked on a product development team for hydrogen fuel cells in submarines. I did a lot of thermal and mixed fluid analysis. I was treated like an engineer and not an intern because of how well prepared I was. It was a great experience."
Beyond Engineering:
"As president of Omega Chi Epsilon, my main goal was to make the group more active on campus by planning more events that would be useful for all chemical engineering students. Last semester, a chemical engineering professor led a resume workshop and after-graduation discussion, which was very successful. This semester, the plan is to invite chemical engineers from local companies to discuss their role in their industry, to hold more informational sessions similar to the resume workshop, and to organize more outings for the group. One upcoming event we are planning is a research seminar for undergraduates. Professors will be asked to give short presentations on their research so that students who are interested in research may have a better idea of whom they should contact."
Career Plans:
"I plan to attend graduate school next year to pursue a higher degree in chemical engineering; right now I am torn between the University of Delaware and Cornell. Ultimately I hope to end up in industry doing research and development for a biotechnology-focused company."