Formulating a Future: Finding a Calling in Pharmaceutical Science

The Center for Engaged Liberal Arts (CELA) helped Alex Xie ’26 build a strong background in undergraduate chemistry research and clarify her post-graduate plans.

As a second-year student, Xie secured her first research experience at Oberlin working with Professor Anthony Allen in his chemistry lab during winter term. “That experience gave me a good sense of what it was like to work in a lab, and I enjoyed building off of the organic chemistry I had learned in class,” she says.

After gaining initial research experience, Xie applied to the Oberlin Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (OSURF) program, which provides stipends for students conducting summer research on campus. The OSURF program is now known as the Oberlin Summer Research Institute Fellowship. As an OSURF fellow, Xie dedicated additional time to research in a lab mentored by Professor Will Parsons. That summer, she honed and diversified her skills in the laboratory and beyond. “I learned many new research techniques through this project, but I also improved my skills in other areas such as reading scientific literature and preparing presentations.”

Xie’s success in the OSURF program motivated her to apply for the Goldwater Scholarship after receiving a nomination from Oberlin. In applying, she reflected more deeply on her goals and found that guidance from the Fellowships Office strengthened her materials. ”I had come into Oberlin wanting to pursue a PhD, but it had been more of a distant goal,” she says. ”Applying for the Goldwater Scholarship helped cement that goal into something more definitive and made me think about  my future career plans after graduate school.”

Xie later applied to and was accepted into the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Emory University. “At Emory, I was mentored by a graduate student and conducted chemical biology research,” she says. “Experiencing research at an R1 institution and seeing what a graduate student’s life is like further solidified my desire to go to graduate school.”

Each of these undergraduate experiences, facilitated by CELA and its offices and programs, has helped Xie develop a clear vision for her future. After graduating from Oberlin, she plans to pursue a PhD in chemistry and become a pharmaceutical research scientist.

Xie is a nominee for the CELA Award, recognizing outstanding engagement and achievement in connecting academic pursuits with experiential learning.