Dateline Pomona – Culver City High School graduate Ifeh Akano remembers the moment she decided to pursue her love of math and science on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona.
It was in her freshman year during a general chemistry class for a physical science and engineering course.
“I just loved that course,” said Ms. Akano, now a sophomore.
Amid the microscopes and many pieces of lab equipment, she decided to switch her major from computer engineering to biochemistry. She hasn’t looked back.
“I do love chemistry,” Ms. Akano said. “I’m interested in how the world works. That’s what drives me to do chemistry.” Ms. Akano said changing her major was not a difficult call.
“I have always liked math and science,” she said. “I knew I should just embrace it.”
Embracing her passion has already proven rewarding.
Last spring, Ms. Akano received a scholarship from the American Chemical Society. This made her Cal Poly’s lone representative in the 2015 scholarship class. The American Chemical Society awards scholarships upward of $5,000 to under-represented students pursuing careers in chemistry or chemistry-related fields.
Happily for Ms. Akano, a first-generation college student, the scholarship offers a measure of financial relief. It also gives her the opportunity to build connections in the field.
“I was so excited,” she said. “I didn’t think that I was going to get it.
“I thought students who knew they wanted to become chemists right away would have an upper hand.”
Ms. Akano discovered early that she had a knack for working in the lab and tackling complex aspects of research.
“I’m getting hands-on opportunities, which is good,” she said.
She is working with Gregory Scott, a chemistry professor, on a project that studies defects in carbon nanotubes. She also is involved in research through the Kenneth N. Edwards Western Coatings Technology Center.
“Ifeh has been enthusiastic about starting research,” Prof. Scott said.
“She already has helped the more senior students in the lab develop a better scheme for keeping track of and planning experiments on our different samples.
“Ifeh has begun to learn how to use several pieces of advanced instrumentation, including an atomic force microscope.”
This summer, Ms. Akano plans to pursue research opportunities, thanks to the support of the American Chemical Society, Cal Poly faculty and a sponsorship from biotechnology corporation Genentech.
Ms. Akano will participate in a Research Experiences for Undergraduates internship at USC this summer.
“The American Chemical Society has provided me with opportunities that will help me in the future,” she said.
This story originally appeared in a Cal Poly Pomona publication
