Chemistry Major Named Recipient of Academic Scholarship Award
Graduating chemistry major Ashley P. Saunders has been named a recipient of the Academic Scholarship Award by the Multicultural Resource Center at Penn State. The award honors multicultural University Park students who excel in academics, leadership, and service.
During her time at Penn State, Saunders was named a Millennium Scholar, a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, and a Gretchen Hall American Chemical Society Scholar. She was also named a recipient of the Pillar of Success Award by the Millennium Scholars Program.
Saunders also conducted research with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Lauren Zarzar. Her work focused on optical properties of oil-oil emulsions. During her time in the group, she contributed to two scientific publications and was the sixth author for a publication in Nature, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
In her free time, Saunders loves to make music. She plays the piano, ukulele, and flute, and she enjoys singing on campus with Essence of Joy, which performs sacred and secular music from the African and African American choral traditions.
Following graduation, Saunders plans to pursue a PhD in chemistry at Stanford University.