Science and Engineering Scholarships and Fellowships Blog

ChemE Grad Receives Graduate Research Fellowship:

“I am so thankful to all of my professors, friends and family who gave me encouragement during the application process,” Mills said. “I spent about a month piecing together my application and it was those people who kept me in good enough spirits to get it done.”

This summer, Mills will be working for OpX, a start-up biotech company in Colorado that she also worked for last summer. She will start her Ph.D. this fall at University of Colorado at Boulder, in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. Eventually, she plans to become a college or university professor.

“By providing full funding, this award will provide me the flexibility to tailor my Ph.D. project,” Mills said. “I can pursue a project that is a little more unconventional and risky than others because the funding is already provided. It is very encouraging to know that NSF trusts me enough to determine what my project should be.”

In her time at WVU, Mills has been highly involved as a member of many student organizations, including Society of Women Engineers (SWE), American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Omega Chi Epsilon and Kappa Phi. She is the former president of SWE, and completed many service outreach activities with the organization. Her participation was vital to Girl Scout Day and Eighth Grade Day, both campus visitation days designed to get young people interested in engineering.

Mills has a specific desire to introduce females to engineering, and hopes to be a SWE advisor one day.