Graduate Student Highlight: Ciera Wentworth
Each week, the Department of Chemistry highlights a group of graduate students who are doing interesting and exciting work within the department. In this installment of our highlight series, we are featuring Ciera Wentworth, who is a third-year student in the Zarzar lab.
Ciera’s research focuses on designing and controlling active behavior in emulsion systems.
Outside of the lab, she is an outreach team leader for the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC). She was also recently elected a Young Women in STEM co-chair for the Penn State chapter of Graduate Women in Science (GWIS).
This week, we met virtually with Ciera to discuss her life in and outside of the lab! Please enjoy our interview with Ciera Wentworth.
Question: How did you get interested in chemistry?
Answer: I was originally a nutrition major when I started my undergraduate degree, but an exceptional general chemistry professor taught me how chemistry could describe the world around me. His passion for chemistry ignited my own, and one day I hope to become a professor at a small college to inspire and give students the same appreciation for science that he gave to me.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Pownal, Maine. It’s the home of Bradbury Mountain State Park. Although many people laugh at the fact that we call it a "mountain" because it is only approximately 400' tall.
Q: Do you have any pets?
A: Yes! I have a dog named Kiana, and she is a Bernese Mountain Dog/German Shepard mix!
Q: What’s your favorite way to spend a day off?
A: Soaking up some sunshine with my family on a lake and then sitting around a campfire.
Bonus Question: Do you have any fun science trivia to share?
A: I do not have any fun science trivia, but I love a cheesy chemistry joke....
Gold walks into a bar, and the bartender says, "Au get outta here!"
Thanks to Ciera for these interesting and thoughtful answers! We hope you enjoyed this interview. Stay tuned for more graduate student highlights in the weeks to come!