Melanie Couch to intern at NKU

Melanie Couch has big plans for her career and she s on course to achieve her dreams. She is a 2013 graduate from Hazard Community and Technical College and will soon begin an internship at Northern Kentucky University. This internship is an opportunity of a lifetime. It will be great to put all this chemistry knowledge to work. I hope to establish a network and find some new role models. I am an older student and I am honored to be selected!! It means a lot to me that my professors thought enough of me to write such good recommendations to get me there! Only 12 were chosen for the internship which will give student participants 10 weeks of hands-on chemistry research. Each student will perform his or her own experiments on a cutting-edge project related to theoretically interesting molecules. Participants will receive training in all experimental techniques and use instrumentation that would be necessary to conduct graduate-level studies.

Dr. Paul Currie, Associate Professor of Biology and Chemistry, is one of the professors who recommended his student for the internship. I saw great promise in Melanie Couch s eagerness to learn and her excellence in the classroom. I m very happy she was chosen for this internship because she is the ideal student who will learn much and use her added knowledge throughout her career.

She will start work on a bachelor s degree in chemistry this fall at NKU and will go on to get a master's degree in chemistry then a Ph.D. in chemistry or biochemistry. Her dream job would be a professor of chemistry and to work in research.

Ms. Couch is thankful for the start she got locally. I loved all of my HCTC classes. They have prepared me well beyond what was needed for my classes. All of my classmates have become like family to me. The faculty has been great and very helpful. I couldn't have made it without all their help.

Another highlight in her educational career was graduating last year with her sister, Amanda Campbell, and her aunt, Sharon Morris. It was really special to walk across the same stage with them.

Ms. Couch of Bonnyman in Perry County is the daughter of Lenora K. Campbell. I started college at HCTC when I was a young girl. I pretty much grew up at the college, Melanie said. Her son, Brandon, will be starting classes at HCTC this fall.

Getting an education didn t stop Ms. Couch, despite her health issues. I have Lupus and even though it has been a battle my professors have been more than willing to work with me. I really couldn't have made it without them.