ACS SCHOLAR
CHAVONDA J. MILLS
DAV ID WILSON
progressing. “You never want to let anyone down, so it’s kind of like they’re holding you accountable,” she says. Through the program, Mills attended Mentoring changed this ACS SCHOLAR’S LIFE, her first ACS national meeting, which was held in Anaheim, Calif., in 1999. “Being at now she hopes to pass her experiences on the conference and not seeing a lot of peoLINDA WANG, C&EN WASHINGTON ple who looked like me, it strengthened my resolve to go to graduate school,” she says. At the meeting, she networked with graduPARTICIPATING IN the American ed. Through the program, Mills ate students while attending the CommitChemical Society Scholars Proreceived a scholarship to conduct tee on Minority Affairs’ social events. gram gave Chavonda J. Mills her research in the lab of Gladys Bayse During that meeting, ACS celebrated the first taste of doing research and at Spelman. Mills’s project was to 100th anniversary of the birth of pioneerinfluenced her decision to become examine the stability of the arseing African American medicinal chemist a medicinal chemist. Today, in her nic additive roxarsone in chicken Percy L. Julian, and Mills attended the symrole as an assistant professor of feed using microwave digestion posium. “That was the first time I heard the CELEBRATING chemistry at Georgia College & and extraction methods. phrase medicinal chemist, and everything 15 YEARS OF THE State University, in Milledgeville, Mills would go into the lab started to come together for me,” she says. ACS SCHOLARS Mills is giving back to the chemevery Friday afternoon. “While “I knew that I wanted to become a mediciPROGRAM istry community by mentoring everyone else was getting ready nal chemist.” minority students and encouragfor the weekend, I was in the lab After graduating from Spelman and ing them to stay on-track in the sciences. conducting research,” she says. “But I Georgia Tech in 2001, Mills went to Florida “I know how beneficial mentorship is and didn’t mind; I looked forward to it.” A&M University, in Tallahassee, where she how many opportunities it opens up,” she She developed a close relationship with received a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry in says. “Now that I am a mentor, I’m able to Bayse, with whom she would talk about 2006. She then chose to go into academia pass that along to the next generation.” career options in the sciences. “It was because she wanted the freedom to pursue Mills, 31, grew up in Decatur, Ga., a wonderful to be able to see another woman her own research interests. suburb of Atlanta. The daughter of a pharconducting research, especially one who At Georgia College, Mills teaches two macist, Mills was exposed to science at has an active research program,” Mills says. lecture courses and two correspondan early age. “After church on Sundays, I She and Bayse have stayed in touch, correing labs. When she’s not teaching, she is would visit the pharmacy where my father sponding at least once a year. studying flavonoid derivatives as potential worked,” she says. “I remember going beanticancer and anti-HIV agents. She tells hind the counter and asking him questions MENTORING IS KEY to the success of the C&EN she is one of two minority faculty about what was going on and what he was ACS Scholars Program. Since its inception in the chemistry department. “One of the doing with the medicines.” in 1994, the program has matched more reasons I chose Georgia College & State In high school, Mills excelled in her scithan 2,000 African AmeriUniversity is because it is a majorityence courses, and her parents enrolled her can, Hispanic, and Native serving university, and I wanted the in summer science programs at nearby American undergraduate minority students there to see diverGIVING BACK Georgia Institute of Technology and Clark students with mentors. sity on the faculty,” she says. Mills (left) now mentors minority Atlantic University. It was also in high Mills says that another Mills founded the university’s undergraduate school that Mills realized that African benefit of her participaCatalyst Network for Underreprestudents like Americans, particularly women, were tion in the program is that sented Minorities in Science, which Willibroad Maimo underrepresented in math and science ACS checked in with her at Georgia College aims to increase retention of minorprofessions. “I thought it was normal for regularly to see how she was & State University. ity students in the sciences through African Americans to succeed in mentorship. Practicing what she those areas,” Mills says. “Hearing the preaches, Mills also mentors minorstatistics fueled my desire to go into ity middle and high school students the sciences even more.” interested in the sciences. “For me, Mills graduated as valedictorian of going into the sciences wasn’t abColumbia High School, in Decatur, normal, and I want to make it just as and in college she pursued a dual normal for others,” she says. degree in chemistry and chemical engineering through a joint program between Spelman College and GeorPlease contact Kathy Fleming in the gia Tech, both in Atlanta. During ACS Development Office for more her junior year, Mills came across a information on contributing to this brochure posted in the science buildimportant program. She may be reached ing at Spelman for the ACS Scholars at (800) 227-5558 ext. 6210 or by e-mail Program; she applied and was acceptat
[email protected]. WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
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FEBRUARY 22, 2010
