Joshua
Hardin
Hometown: Ramseur, NC
Major: Chemistry
Research Interest: Chemistry and public health
“I know and care much more about social justice in the sciences than I did when entering college.
CURRENT OCCUPATION:
I am an ORISE Fellow with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?
I plan to attend graduate school in a few years and then hope to have a career as a researcher, preferably in academia or government.
WHAT DREW YOU TO THE CSS PROGRAM?
The financial support and opportunities to conduct research drew me to CSS.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE CSS EXPERIENCE OR MEMORY?
I think Summer Bridge [now Summer EXCELerator] was a good introduction to UNC, because I had never lived close to people my age before, so it was great coming into school with social connections.
HOW HAS CSS SHAPED YOUR CAREER GOALS?
I learned about how to find research and career opportunities, which I probably wouldn’t have outside of the program. And while this is a more general change only partly attributable to CSS, I know and care much more about social justice in the sciences than I did when entering college.
WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY RESEARCH INTEREST?
I have a lot of research interests, and I bounced around a bit at UNC, working with Dr. Madden at EPA concurrently with Dr. Waters and then Dr. Ehrmann at the MS Core lab. My work was in chemistry and public health.