Wingate’s chemistry department takes care of its own. And the OneDog spirit goes beyond the classroom and the lab, with alumni becoming career catalysts of sorts for the next generation of chemists.
That’s certainly the case for Brandon Santiago, a 2011 grad who did an internship at General Dynamics under the direction of 1997 alumnus Todd Griffin and is now supervising an internship at GSK in Philadelphia for 2022 grad Jose Estevez Nolasco.
Santiago, who works as a bioanalyst for GSK’s U.S. Discovery Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) unit, says Griffin’s help made him more eager to help each of the interns he’s worked with over the past few years.
“I’ve seen firsthand what a huge impact it can have, either directly or through helping decide what comes next,” he says. “It is rewarding to be a part of paying it forward. Having a mentor and an internship had such a big impact on my research interests, what graduate schools I was able to get into, and where I am today. It will be cool to see how it affects Jose’s path.”
Nolasco already credits the internship experience with exposing him to the vast array of industry labs and setting him on the path toward a Ph.D. in chemistry with a focus on pharmaceutical sciences. He worked directly with Santiago during the initial weeks of his internship and now meets with him weekly to catch up and discuss next steps.
“He has helped me decide on graduate-school applications and to understand the pros and cons of being in this field,” says Nolasco, who initially came to Wingate as a nursing major. A resident of Chapel Hill, N.C., he had been exposed to big universities but chose Wingate because he wanted “closer connections with students and professors.”
“It was actually one of the first conversations I had with my advisor, Dr. Chris Dahm, that resulted in me switching majors,” Nolasco says. “I had gone to ask questions about an assignment, and he instead started to ask questions to get to know me better.”
When Dahm asked why nursing, Nolasco couldn’t answer. “I enjoyed the idea of job security but did not find the field interesting,” Nolasco says. After more conversations with Dahm, he changed his major to match his passion, and he says the rigor of the chemistry department, especially during undergraduate research presentations, prepared him to discuss his research during his GSK interview.
Nolasco’s internship involves using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to screen compounds that could have potential to be drug candidates. But Santiago says students seeking internships shouldn’t get too hung up on the specifics of the role.
“Internships are a great way to gain experience in a field and learn about what opportunities are out there,” he says. “One of the toughest parts about choosing a major or career path is that you aren’t always aware of what options even exist. The main priority is to get some hands-on experience in a field you are interested in and make connections. Very few people end up staying on a specific career path, so it’s good to build a wide base of experiences early on.”
Santiago says he and Nolasco talk regularly about day-to-day science and how to approach certain studies, as well as long-term goals and aspirations.
“I try to sprinkle in my experiences to help provide context as he makes his decisions about graduate-school applications and plans,” Santiago says. “Right now is a critical time for him as he tries to pick his graduate school, so I think it’s really important to support that decision in any way I can.”
Griffin, who now works for Wingate as the University’s chemical safety officer and lab manager, can’t say enough about the benefits of internships.
“In STEM, we learn a lot of complex and sometimes abstract concepts. Internships distill these concepts to everyday work tasks,” he says. “But just as important are the relationships you build. I still communicate with my mentor from my internship, and his advice, friendship and encouragement have meant the world to me.”
Griffin remembers when Santiago first became an intern at General Dynamics. Like most undergraduates, his lab experience was mostly class-related, but when Griffin put him on a team with Ph.D. analytical chemists and electrical engineers, the magic happened.
“Brandon opened up and began to engage with these researchers to make meaningful progress on the project,” Griffin says. “His confidence increased. His talent was always there, but this experience allowed him to find his own voice and understand the process of solving complex problems.”
He is more than thrilled to see an intern he mentored now paying it forward with the next generation of Wingate chemistry majors.
“I understand where I came from and that I stand on the shoulders of others who’ve paid it forward,” says Griffin, who, like Santiago and Nolasco, was a first-generation college student. “I consider it an honor and a duty that all alums have to the future generations.”
