N icole Snyder, senior chemistry major and dance minor, spent her summer working toward cancer solutions at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

She studied in the lab of Dr. Jeff Aubé, professor in the UNC Department of Chemistry, within the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery. She worked directly under Ryan Sherrier, her graduate student mentor, as part of a Research Experience for Undergraduates or REU.

“We were working on synthesizing something being studied right now as a potential treatment for cancer,” Snyder said. “I spent the whole summer making molecules, purifying them and sending them off for biological testing.”

“By the end of the summer, I made 20 different compounds, so it was a lot of work,” she said, “but it was so fun, and I learned so much.”

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Monday through Friday, she felt the experience of being a graduate student of chemistry, solidifying her aspiration to enter graduate school.

“It was cool to get an inside peek into what it looks like,” Snyder said. “We had a cohort and planned social events. At the end of the summer, we had a mini poster session and shared the work we did throughout the year.”

“It made me more comfortable with analysis and purification techniques in the lab,” she said.

Between lab work, visiting museums, cheering at baseball games and Friday night dinners with her cohort, Snyder developed more than technical skills.

“It forced me to face my opinions and beliefs and stand up for them, which I didn’t expect,” she said. “I thought this was going to be all about chemistry, and here I am—I’ve changed as a person.”

“I was on my own, and I really had to be confident in who I was and confident in the decisions I was making,” she said.

The reality of research shifted for her, and she realized how much of it is thinking critically about what went wrong.
 
“Sometimes research is trying something and watching it just go so wrong and saying, ‘Well, I didn’t expect that to happen,’” Snyder said.

The growth she experienced was accelerated by her mentor, Dr. Catrena Lisse, director of the Science Education Center and professor of chemistry—someone Snyder has worked with since her freshmen year. 

“I could sing her praises forever,” Snyder said. “She’s an incredible mentor and an incredible woman, and it’s been really amazing to follow in her footsteps.”

Following graduation, Snyder intends to pursue graduate school—hopefully at UNC. After that, she said, she sees a doctorate and the workforce in her future.

“There’s something scary about entering the workforce, but at the same time, I feel like I’ve been well prepared by GCSU, my mentors and colleagues here, and incredible family support,” 
Snyder said. “I didn’t think I’d be sitting here with all the things I’ve done these past four years—so I’m excited to see where it takes me.”