Philip Nguyen has been named our second Undergraduate of the Quarter for Fall 2014.  Phillip is originally from Oregon City where he attended Oregon City High School.  He cites his AP Chenistry teacher, Mr. Taylor for his love of Chemistry.  Phillip came to OSU to obtain a Bachelor’s degree and familiarize himself with the campus and surrounding community before continuing on to Pharmacy school.  An after high school job at a Pharmacy made him realize that while he loved the pharmaceutical industry, he’d have a better foundation if he started in Chemistry first, so that’s exactly what he did.

Phillip’s favorite class was CH 361/362: Experimental Chemistry.  He said it was this class where he got his first real hands on experience with chemistry and realized that sometimes, your experiments fail.  He also stated that he really liked how energetic the instructors were about their teaching and how when something did fail, they used it as a lesson for the class.  He has participated in Undergraduate Research for Dr. Paul Cheong since his freshmen year.  He tells his friends that research is like a homework problem that you can’t solve for weeks.  “You go in every single day and you work at it, and work at it, and work at it.  You finally get an answer, then you realixe you did the math wrong, so you go back and keep trying.

Phillip plans on applying to Pharmacy school this summer after graduation.  He says he feels really integrated into the department and it’s someplace he can call home.  We’re proud to have students like Phillip as part of our department.

Alexandria “Alex” Van Scoyk  has been named one of the Fall 2014 Undergraduates of the Quarter.  She grew up in Cedar City, Utah, where she attended Cedar High School.  Her chemistry instructor, Steven Stephenson (an OSU alumni) sparked her initial interest in chemistry.  “He was the very first professor that actually made me work hard in class,” she said of Stephenson.  It was his push that made her come to Oregon State as a Chemistry major and her discovered love for the lab that has made her stay.

Her favorite class while attending Oregon State has been Physical Chemistry, with Dr. Glenn Evans.  She stated that she really liked the way Glenn made you think about the concepts and work hard to get the grades and the way he really wanted the students to learn the material that he so obviously loves..  She also talked about Emile Firpo as being a favorite.  “He is responsible for solidifying my liking for lab work,” she states.  She says Emile is probably 90% responsible for getting her into research in the first place.  She now works in Dr. David William’s lab doing what she termed, “general stuff.”

Alex, who will graduate in the Spring hopes to continue on to Graduate School in the areas of toxicology or pharmacology, then come back to academia as a Professor.  Currently, Alex is the President of the Chemistry Club.  She’s also on the College of Science Advisory Council and in the Student Advisory Group.  In her spare time, she likes to hang out with her friends, watch movies and sleep.  It’s students like Alex that make us proud to be Oregon State University.