USU Awards Hach Scholarship to Transfer Student

Educating future generations of scientists includes educating future teachers who can foster youngsters’ interest in science. This past year, the Colorado-based Hach Scientific Foundation provided funding to Utah State University’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to administer two scholarships of $6,000 per year, for up to six years, to students committed to becoming high school chemistry teachers.

USU’s first Hach Scholarship recipient is Nicole Brinck, who transfers to campus this fall after completing studies at Snow College, a two-year state college in Utah’s Sanpete Valley.

 

“I’m really excited about receiving the scholarship and starting at USU,” says Brinck, who graduated from Salt Lake County’s Bingham High School in 2005.

 

Brinck admits that chemistry wasn’t her favorite subject in high school. “I really didn’t do well in chemistry but I started college as a pre-pharmacy major and chemistry was required,” she says.

 

While taking chemistry at the college level, Brinck discovered she enjoyed the subject. “I had the opportunity to lead study groups and, all of a sudden, I loved chemistry,” she says. “It’s what I’m really good at.”

 

Brinck says she looks forward to taking USU’s biochemistry courses – studies not offered at her alma mater – along with other upper division science courses.

 

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about Utah State’s science program from my friends and from my brother, Cory, who studies electrical engineering at USU,” she says.

 

Beyond the classroom, Brinck hones her teaching skills as a pool lifeguard and swimming coach. She instructs fledgling swimmers ages three to 15 and coaches competitive swimmers from elementary to middle school-age. “In that environment, you learn what motivates kids and how to lead them, step by step, through new concepts,” she says.

 

The length of the Hach Scholarship is intended to encourage students to pursue upper-level chemistry courses beyond those required for secondary school teaching. USU’s Chem/Biochem Department will award the second scholarship in 2008. The foundation stipulates that USU can support two students at a time; additional scholarships will be awarded as the first recipients graduate.

 

The Hach Scientific Foundation was established in 1982 by Clifford and Kitty Hach, founders of The Hach Company. According to its Web site, the foundation’s mission is to foster and support science and science education, and to make evident the interdependence between science education and the public. Utah State joins about 20 colleges and universities designated to administer scholarships funded by the foundation.

 

The foundation also offers second career scholarships to professionals who wish to return to college to become high school chemistry teachers. For information, visit www.hachscientificfoundation.org.

 

 

Contact: Geri Child, 435-797-0544, gchild@cc.usu.edu