{"id":17746,"date":"2021-08-23T13:43:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T17:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/?p=17746"},"modified":"2021-09-03T09:10:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T13:10:14","slug":"creative-transylvania-chemistry-graduate-finds-fulfillment-through-product-development-and-stained-glass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/2021\/08\/creative-transylvania-chemistry-graduate-finds-fulfillment-through-product-development-and-stained-glass\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Transylvania chemistry graduate finds fulfillment through product development \u2014 and stained glass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Sometimes, getting down to essential elements requires burning off extraneous matter. Maybe even a bit of combustion? In a similar way, the right college functions as both laboratory and launch site, brimming with subjects and experiences that interact, collide and refine, ultimately enabling students to better understand their true core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Natalie Hendrix \u201917, a product development scientist for a personal care company in Lehi, Utah, clarification began unexpectedly as a first-year chemistry student taking a required writing class as part of her liberal arts curriculum at Transylvania University. In the process of researching a paper on alternative medicine, Hendrix realized that her interest really wasn\u2019t in the field of pharmacy after all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internships in labs off campus further confirmed that working in drug research and development for pharmaceutical companies simply didn\u2019t inspire her. So, the journey continued as she tried and jettisoned subjects and paths that failed to resonate at her core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came May term in Copenhagen, Denmark, and that combustible moment learning about inventive sustainable energy systems. Her synapses began to fire in new ways as she took in the imaginative forms of renewable energy and considered how something so important in one part of the world might translate to the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat experience opened my eyes to cool, innovative products that are within that sector of science and engineering,\u201d she recalls, sensing but not yet making the direct connection to her own creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The momentum continued when she returned to Transy for her senior year. Challenged to choose a yearlong research project, Hendrix decided to propose a new project in conjunction with chemistry professor Kyle Schnitzenbaumer\u2019s work on quantum dot solar cells. Her project was to alter the ends of molecules in order to improve the efficiency of the solar cell. She remembers how the process changed her thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting to make and tinker with something in the lab was really neat and helped drive me on the path of pursuing engineering,\u201d she recalls. As a result, she added a math minor. She also received an American Institute of Chemists Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Part of Hendrix’s creative development happened as she tried her hand at the art of stained glass. She even built an online business around it. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI definitely think taking liberal arts classes made me realize what I didn\u2019t want to do,\u201d she says with humor, adding that the demanding curriculum and co-curricular activities gave her the ability to write and communicate, manage time and lead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her first job out of college was with a sustainable material company in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, working with plants like hemp, flax and bamboo. \u201cI got to do some research with those different types of materials and the chemical processing of them,\u201d she says. That, along with her experience in Denmark, helped to jump-start her path toward product development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What excites Hendrix about this kind of chemistry is that it offers \u201ca good mix of technical skills and creativity,\u201d she explains, particularly when dealing with formulation and product development. \u201cWhether it\u2019s formulating paint, cleaning or personal care products, there\u2019s definitely a creative aspect to it. And I enjoy that mix of different sides.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s why she\u2019s eagerly anticipating the move from her current role at Young Living Essential Oils in the technical management side \u2014 which involves working from the inception of an idea through the manufacturing and marketing of the product \u2014 to being fully in the formulation role. With a Diploma of Personal Care Formulation from the Institute of Personal Care Science and a master\u2019s in biological chemical engineering from Lehigh University soon to be completed, she\u2019s ready to spend all of her time in the lab, doing more of the development and testing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is what I\u2019ve wanted to do,\u201d she says, looking forward to the independence that comes with the responsibility, as well as \u201cthe creative aspect and being more hands on.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n