Outstanding Graduates Chemistry

2023

Will Grubbs

Will Grubbs '23 体现了最优秀的科学家和学者所固有的求知欲和学习动力. Never content with mere superficial knowledge, 他的问题使全班同学有了更深入的理解，他的突破常规的人际关系和深刻的洞察力也使教授们感到高兴. 他在化学系担任有机化学和物理化学的助教，并在无机合成方面进行了研究.

Alison Thomas

Alison Thomas '23 is a voracious learner, an adept laboratory chemist and a capable teacher. In class, Alison consumes knowledge to make great leaps forward in understanding. Her questions drive class discussions in novel and interesting directions, going beyond “what?” and into “why?” and “what if?”. She brought this questioning nature into research, ultimately spending a year researching organic synthesis.

2022

Bryan Dionisio

Academically talented, always cheerful, always upbeat, warm, and willing to help, Bryan Dionisio '22 在很多方面丰富了他的教授和同学的生活——作为课堂上的学生, a TA for various labs, and a researcher in the Nishimura group, with whom he has published three papers. 我们总是期待着他的出现，因为他知道任务会很快完成，而不是大张旗鼓，因为他在幕后工作. 

2021

Winston Gee

Many words could be written about Winston Gee’s ('21) intelligence and character. He brings an unassuming wisdom to everything he does. He is a top-notch thinker, never settling for face value. He always pushes to find deeper meaning. As a student, he asks the best questions and has achieved an impeccable record. As a chemist, he has an endless curiosity and a high level of determination and initiative. 他的研究项目在他仔细的质疑和创造性下已经形成了更好的东西. As a citizen, he’s shown a reconciliatory heart and a refreshing ability to listen and engage in dialogue. 他在各个方面都表现出了研究生水平的能力，毫无疑问，他已经为研究生院的下一阶段做好了准备.

2020

Marissa Condie 

Marissa Condie’s ('20) motivation and initiative shined in the major honors research that she undertook this year. Very ingeniously Marissa entirely on her own initiative, 设计了一种分析方法来量化从激发态经历不同弛豫途径的分子的相对数量. Then she showed her leadership skills by coming up with weekly research goals, 与研究小组的每个成员进行沟通，并指导新学生进行实验程序. Marissa always downplays her accomplishments and that makes her a natural leader. In January 2019, 她参加了太平洋光谱学和动力学会议，并在教授面前为自己的研究辩护, post-docs and graduate students from leading research universities.

2019

Nick Taylor and Ana Bulger

Nick Taylor '19 and Ana Bulger '19 won the Outstanding Graduate Award in Chemistry. Ana Bulger, who finished her Westmont program with a 4.他将在加州大学洛杉矶分校攻读化学博士学位，研究方向为有机合成化学. “She has transitioned from student to teacher, from receiver to discoverer of knowledge,” says professor Michael Everest, chair of the chemistry department. 在两年的有机化学课上，她一直是一个认真可靠的老师助理，在课堂上，她是一个令人印象深刻的有创意的合成设计师. But she can most often be found in the lab, where she is the go-to person for both technique and experimental design questions.”

去年4月，在奥兰多举行的美国化学学会全国会议上，她介绍了她在芳基氨基磺酸硼化方面的主要荣誉工作, Florida.

“在过去的四年里，我在韦斯特蒙经历中最重要的部分是增进了我与教师和同龄人的关系,” she says. “Westmont has given me the unique opportunity of mentorship from my professors. This kind of interaction is often difficult for undergraduates at larger schools. 正是通过向这些令人惊叹的教师学习，我能够通过提出问题而茁壮成长，并受到启发，成为一名化学家.”

Nick Taylor, a double major in chemistry and philosophy, 担任学前健康俱乐部主席，并志愿为小学生教授科学. He hopes to attend medical school to pursue a career as a pediatric oncologist. “他是一位才华横溢的化学家和一位深思熟虑的哲学家，他将这两者结合在一起，成为一位快乐而谦逊的仆人式领袖,” says Michael Everest, chair of the chemistry department.

He completed a major honors project, “Meta-Arylation of Aryl Carbamates,他在美国化学会全国会议上与阿曼达·西尔伯斯坦教授一起发表了这一研究成果. “Around the lab, he is known for his unfailing good nature and as the indispensable solver of practical problems,” Silberstein says.

“Not only have I learned a lot, but I have met some amazing people in the process,” he says.

2018

Andrew Sawyer

To better understand the diet of the Native American Myaamia tribe of Oklahoma, Andrew Sawyer '18 conducted research on the amount of crude protein and crude fat present in Myaamia corn. He says the most valuable part of his research was the relationships he developed with professors. “The Westmont chemistry department focuses on developing the student as a whole, both the mind and the soul,” he says. “During summer research, I not only learned how to be a good researcher, but also how to be a good person.” During his time at Westmont, he shared lunch or coffee with more than 25 different faculty members from various departments. “韦斯特蒙特的独特之处不仅在于为学生提供一流的教育，还在于让他们有机会从真正关心学生整体福祉的教授那里学习和指导,” he says. He hopes to pursue a career in dentistry.

2017

Nicole Marsh

Nicole Marsh '17 has been an exemplary student and researcher. She has routinely been a top student in her chemistry classes, 包括她在韦斯特蒙特大学的第一学期，她注册了有机化学，并取得了100分的成绩^th percentile on the standardized American Chemical Society exam. 一年级学生很少选修有机化学，妮可的表现非常出色! 妮可曾在化学系担任问题评分员和化学俱乐部主席. She is graduating in three years with a double major in chemistry and biology. Nicole目前正在完成一个主要的荣誉项目，涉及肌萎缩性侧索硬化症的蛋白质聚集. After graduation, Nicole plans to pursue a Ph.D. She also hopes to continue pursuing two of her favorite hobbies, martial arts and traveling to Arab countries.

2017

Karli Holman

One-hundred and thirty words cannot accurately reflect the extraordinary person and chemist who is Karli Holman '17. Her superlative academic record barely scratches the surface. A creative problem solver, Karli为她的主要荣誉项目开发了一种新的化学方法，并因她对第二个项目的贡献而发表. Karli’s dedication and sheer joy in the learning process are truly inspiring, both to her professors and her students. It shows in her enthusiasm in class; it shows in her commitment to teaching underclassmen organic chemistry, both as a TA and as a tutor; and it shows in her excited conversations about what she just learned. As she pursues her love of learning in pursuing a Ph.D., we know that she will have a positive impact wherever she is placed; she certainly did here.

2016

Audrene McMahon

Audrene McMahon '16 has been an exemplary student, researcher, and teaching assistant. 她在化学课上一直是优等生，在写作方面也表现得很成熟. 她出色的化学研究成果在一篇涉及蛋白质聚集的期刊文章上发表. As a teaching assistant, Audrene has displayed patience and kindness towards her students, while maintaining high expectations for their work. In addition to completing a chemistry and biology double major, Audrene is graduating with a mathematics minor, and studied abroad in Ireland for a semester. After graduation, Audrene plans to pursue a medical degree from Loma Linda University. The Chemistry Department has no doubt that Audrene will be a wonderful and compassionate doctor. She has a positive outlook on life and is very sensitive to the needs of others.

2016

Aaron Wilk

Aaron Wilk '16 is the most outstanding student I have seen in my 26 years as a professor at Westmont,” says Dr. Nivaldo Tro. He made his first impression early. 在美国化学会通用化学标准化期末考试中，他取得了70/70的满分. (在这个考试中，你可能会错过十几道题，但在全国分布中仍处于前10%的水平.) Since then, he has gotten an A (and likely the top score) in every class he has taken. He thinks like an accomplished scientist, writes like a scholar, and communicates so clearly and so engagingly that you can’t help but be drawn in. He is also an accomplished concert pianist and a triple major. He has been accepted to nearly every program to which he has applied and will begin Stanford’s M.D./ Ph.D. program next fall. We can’t wait to see what he accomplishes. Congratulations Aaron!

2015

Elizabeth Simoneit

Elizabeth Simoneit’s ('15) excellent academic record does scant justice to her abilities inside and outside the classroom. 在后者中，她的杰出之处不仅在于她的严谨和学术上的卓越，因为她同时主修化学和西班牙语，而且还在于她对学习的热情, good judgment, warmth, compassion, and appropriate self-confidence. Unsurprisingly, she is loved and respected in the chemistry department as a friend, classmate, laboratory teaching assistant, and researcher of photoactive nanoparticles. However, she is perhaps better known on campus for her devotion to serving others, culminating in her co-directing the 2015 Potter’s clay mission trip. 伊丽莎白已经被几所医学院录取，我们希望她能成为一名有思想、有风度的医生.

2015

Rebecca Winchenbaugh

Rebecca Winchenbaugh '15 (Becky) is one of those students who comes along once or twice in a professor’s career. She has more than excelled in her chemistry major and math minor courses with eight A+ grades, 以及在课程结束时举行的几次全国化学考试中取得百分百的成绩. 她喜欢帮助别人，并且已经证明了这一点(以及她在化学方面的能力)，她是荣誉普通化学和有机化学的主要帮助课助教. Becky was able to complete a major honors project in her junior year, allowing her to attend University College London last fall to study medical anthropology. 她打算把自己对科学研究的热爱和医学结合起来，上医学院并获得两个硕士学位.D. and Ph.D. degrees.