Student Spotlight: Kylie Slattery

Meet Kylie from Pittsfield, MA. She is pursuing a double major in Chemistry and Microbiology.   

Kylie grew up with two brothers and a single mother—who works as a nurse—in a family that struggled with substance abuse. Outside of home, a love of science was nurtured by supportive teachers: “I had a chemistry teacher, who I called Z, that helped me discover my love for chemistry. Then I met my physics teacher, Broder, who helped me discover that I can achieve more than what I dreamed of, and that I am made for STEM.” STEM is like “a second language” to Kylie: “I enjoy the cause and effect from a given chemical reaction, and I actually know how a vaccine works, after scribing for vaccine clinics for so many years.” 

A first-generation college student, Kylie has a lot on her plate, as she feels the need to make accomplishments not only for herself, but also for her family: “My three-year-old sister looks up to me, and I want her to grow up and know that she can achieve anything she wants to do.” 

Thus far, one of Kylie’s favorite classes has been General Chemistry for Science and Engineering Majors (CHEM 112) with chemistry professor Justin Fermann, and she values her independent research with Klaus Nüsslein, professor of microbiology. “I want to change the world, and to do that, I joined a research lab with Klaus Nüsslein, where we try to diminish greenhouse gases and make water treatment more efficient and environmentally friendly.”  

Aside from her studies, Kylie is a member of the Chemistry Club and serves as a writer and photographer for The Massachusetts Daily Collegian. 

As she maps out her academic journey, Kylie plans on achieving a PhD at UMass in either chemistry or microbiology. This will hopefully include working in a research lab, such as the Hardy Lab, so that she can help combat Alzheimer's disease. “Alzheimer's runs in my family, and twice we have been very affected by it: both my great grandmothers passed with Alzheimer's, and I don't want people to have to go through that loss.” 

Kylie wants to be the first in her family to receive a bachelor’s degree in STEM. “I want to walk out of school with two degrees, and after all that, I plan to work toward my PhD and be the first doctor in my family. I want my mother—who has given up so much to raise us—to see that everything has paid off.”