Taylor's College Tuition Fund
Donation protected
It has been such a long journey but I will finally be graduating with my Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the College of Natural Science and Mathematics at UH this winter! Although this is not the graduation I planned for, I am excited and proud of the future ahead of me.
Since this will be my 5th semester at UH, federal loans will no longer cover my tuition and my applications to obtain private loans have been unsuccessful. I was also working as a laboratory technician at the university but due to COVID all classes and labs were moved online so I have lost my job. I have been in constant contact with the university's financial resource center where I am told that I will need to cover my tuition out of pocket in order to graduate in December.
To my friends and family who were considering getting me a graduation gift, contributing to my fundraiser would be the perfect gift as it directly affects my graduation! I in no way expect anyone to donate. Words of encouragement to get me through this will be just as appreciated!
If you would like to hear about my college experience I will tell you about it below!
As an incoming freshman, I began looking for organizations to join as I didn't know many people in my major and was eager to make new friends. I soon found the American Chemical Society (ACS) and started to attend meetings. I instantly fell in love with the mission of this organization and knew I wanted to become more involved. The following years I ran for leadership positions and was elected into office as vice president my junior year and later became the president for the 2019-2020 school year. Our organization was the sole provider of lab equipment to the entire university and my duties were to run and manage the sales. I was also in charge of managed a free tutoring room with over 180 tutors that tutored a range of subjects including chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry. The tutoring program also hosted free review sessions to over 300 students before each organic chemistry 1 and 2 tests or final exams. Along with each live review session, the organization also turned made youtube videos for the university to use as resources for future students. At the beginning of the global pandemic, I created a virtual tutoring room to ensure that students maintained access to all of our resources. That virtual tutoring room was later recognized by the university as an official COVID-19 resource and was sent out to all STEM majors and can be found on the university's website. Our organization was also very involved in the community as well. We donated supplies, did science presentations, and performed demonstrations in several underserved communities throughout the Houston area. We also host several science fairs each year where my job was to set up, run, and judge the whole event. UH ACS has been honored by the Houston Independent School District as well as the Pasadena Independent School District for our help in their communities.
During my vice presidency and presidency, ACS was awarded by the national branch of the American Chemical Society due to our dedication to the university, surrounding communities, and the environment. We were flown out to Orlando and Philadelphia to accept our awards at an international convention where members from different ACS chapters across the globe gathered to accept their awards.
During undergrad, I was also asked to serve on the NSM Undergraduate Studies Committee where representatives from each department vote on changes to the curriculum, course descriptions, prerequisites, and other related topics regarding STEM classes. I also worked at a summer internship program at New Park Drilling Fluids where my focus was on analytical chemistry and quality assurance and later worked in the university's laboratory.
My undergraduate career has been fun, exciting, and at many times difficult, but definitely so rewarding as I near the end. I am excited to finally be entering the workforce in a discipline I love so much! I thank everyone who has taken the time to read my journey as well as anyone who has helped me come this far!
Since this will be my 5th semester at UH, federal loans will no longer cover my tuition and my applications to obtain private loans have been unsuccessful. I was also working as a laboratory technician at the university but due to COVID all classes and labs were moved online so I have lost my job. I have been in constant contact with the university's financial resource center where I am told that I will need to cover my tuition out of pocket in order to graduate in December.
To my friends and family who were considering getting me a graduation gift, contributing to my fundraiser would be the perfect gift as it directly affects my graduation! I in no way expect anyone to donate. Words of encouragement to get me through this will be just as appreciated!
If you would like to hear about my college experience I will tell you about it below!
As an incoming freshman, I began looking for organizations to join as I didn't know many people in my major and was eager to make new friends. I soon found the American Chemical Society (ACS) and started to attend meetings. I instantly fell in love with the mission of this organization and knew I wanted to become more involved. The following years I ran for leadership positions and was elected into office as vice president my junior year and later became the president for the 2019-2020 school year. Our organization was the sole provider of lab equipment to the entire university and my duties were to run and manage the sales. I was also in charge of managed a free tutoring room with over 180 tutors that tutored a range of subjects including chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry. The tutoring program also hosted free review sessions to over 300 students before each organic chemistry 1 and 2 tests or final exams. Along with each live review session, the organization also turned made youtube videos for the university to use as resources for future students. At the beginning of the global pandemic, I created a virtual tutoring room to ensure that students maintained access to all of our resources. That virtual tutoring room was later recognized by the university as an official COVID-19 resource and was sent out to all STEM majors and can be found on the university's website. Our organization was also very involved in the community as well. We donated supplies, did science presentations, and performed demonstrations in several underserved communities throughout the Houston area. We also host several science fairs each year where my job was to set up, run, and judge the whole event. UH ACS has been honored by the Houston Independent School District as well as the Pasadena Independent School District for our help in their communities.
During my vice presidency and presidency, ACS was awarded by the national branch of the American Chemical Society due to our dedication to the university, surrounding communities, and the environment. We were flown out to Orlando and Philadelphia to accept our awards at an international convention where members from different ACS chapters across the globe gathered to accept their awards.
During undergrad, I was also asked to serve on the NSM Undergraduate Studies Committee where representatives from each department vote on changes to the curriculum, course descriptions, prerequisites, and other related topics regarding STEM classes. I also worked at a summer internship program at New Park Drilling Fluids where my focus was on analytical chemistry and quality assurance and later worked in the university's laboratory.
My undergraduate career has been fun, exciting, and at many times difficult, but definitely so rewarding as I near the end. I am excited to finally be entering the workforce in a discipline I love so much! I thank everyone who has taken the time to read my journey as well as anyone who has helped me come this far!
Organizer
Taylor Prichard
Organizer
Houston, TX