Posted by on Nov 23, 2016 in Alumni |

Darren Cornell is an Emmanuel alum and chemistry major. He just started working for the department as an assistant lab manager.

Darren is from Woburn, Ma and was drawn to Emmanuel not only for its location, but also the amazing faculty and challenging course work which he said greatly prepared him for life in a working world. When asked what made him want to study chemistry, Darren easily pinpointed a distinct moment in which he knew that chemistry was the major for him. “It was spring of freshman year” says Darren. “I was taking CHEM 1102 and BIO1106 and everyone loved the biology class and thought it was great. While I had been struggling in chemistry, for me, it was the other way around. I really loved all the stuff that happens in CHEM 1102 and I think that it was a good indicator that chemistry is what I enjoy far more than biology or physics.”

Darren looks up to both his parents for guiding him and implementing in him a love for science. Since both his parents are in the sciences, Darren views them as big role models for their work in helping to direct him where to go and what path to take in the sciences.

When asked how it feels to be back at Emmanuel, Darren says that he enjoys “being surrounded with so many friends and people I took classes with and interacting with the chemistry and biology faculty on a more personal level.” Darren enjoys helping to prepare both biology and

chemistry labs and hopes to spend a lot of time organizing manuals and standard operating procedures to help run the labs more smoothly.

As for the future, one of Darren’s main aspirations is getting the opportunity to teach people new things and to help in the exciting process of making education more accessible to all.

“Don’t be scared of science classes, there’s a certain stigma that people put on science classes which makes them seem impossible and that no one can do it” explained Darren. Regarding advice that he would give to prospective or current students in not just chemistry, but any science really, Darren offered this, “go into lab excited to learn new things and don’t be afraid to make mistakes because the biggest obstacle to your learning is being afraid to fail.”