Growing up calling Los Angeles and then New Hampshire home, Cassie Chartier had a multitude of colleges in her periphery. Though she ultimately chose URI for financial reasons, the largest public institution in the smallest state in the nation provided Chartier with the opportunity to explore a passion she’d held since high school: chemistry. “Chemistry peaked my interest in high school, and I thought, ‘why not continue studying it in college’?” Chartier says, “I really developed a passion for it after taking organic chemistry my sophomore year with Professor Brenton DeBoef. Now, I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”

As a chemistry major at URI, Chartier fervently followed her passion for organic chemistry, recalling one experience in particular that truly left her inspired. “Performing reactions in an organic chemistry lab was inspiring to me because I realized that I have the power to turn seemingly simple molecules into complex molecules capable of incredible things,” she states, “It seems really nerdy, but chemistry is a powerful science that can tackle almost anything in our world.” Carrying this passion with her, Chartier graduated in May 2019 with a B.S. in chemistry and minors in mathematics and physics, but she’s not stopping there. She now looks forward to continuing on to graduate school to obtain her Ph.D. in organic chemistry, hoping to eventually become a professor and to change the stigma around organic chemistry as a field. “URI has given me the skills to reach these goals through my education, of course, but also through incredible leadership opportunities,” she adds, “Throughout my four years at URI, I have built my knowledge and confidence to succeed as an independent and driven woman in science.”

Although she has much to say about the academic side of URI, Chartier also encourages incoming students to embrace and explore the social side of university life. “Get uncomfortable. My first semester at URI, I didn’t do enough and I found myself all too often bored in my dorm room. Fill up your schedule. I became a student employee in the chemistry department my first year, a URI 101 mentor my sophomore year, an orientation leader the following summer, a member of the executive board of my professional fraternity the following year… your opportunities are endless at URI. Prioritize your education, but have fun and build yourself as an individual along the way. Both are extremely important.”

~Written by Chase Hoffman, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology double major