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Student spotlight: Anna Taylor

Student spotlight: Anna Taylor

by Public Relations | September 13, 2024

LATROBE, PA – Saint Vincent College junior Anna Taylor wasn’t sure what to expect this past summer when she applied for an internship with Parker Lord, a company that produces and develops adhesives, coatings and specialty chemicals.

“I didn’t know that much about it other than what was posted on LinkedIn,” said Taylor, a chemistry major from Greensburg.

Taylor wound up being part of a group of nearly two dozen college students from across the state who worked the 12-week, on-site internship in Erie. “I learned how an actual lab operates—how team members communicate and get stuff done” she said.

The experience was eye-opening, engaging and a lot more fun than she anticipated.

“Their building is huge, so I was always getting lost,” Taylor said with a laugh. “They paid for our lunches. They set up activities for us like discussions about professional development and how to make a resume. They really encouraged the interns to get together and do things. I was a little surprised because I didn’t know people treated their interns so well.”

At the end of the summer, the company organized an intern fair for the students to present posters about the projects they’d worked on. When Taylor returned to Saint Vincent for the fall semester, Dr. Steven Gravelle, professor odf chemistry and chair of the Chemistry Department, made sure to hang her poster in a prominent spot inside the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion.

“I want other students to see what opportunities are out there,” Gravelle said. “At Parker Lord, Anna was exposed to a lot of instrumentation that’s similar to what we have here, but it's much more advanced. … We really encourage our students to do these kinds of internships because they find out a lot about themselves, as well as the chemistry industry. It helps them realize the immensity of the field.”

Taylor transferred from the University of Pittsburgh to Saint Vincent College midway through her freshman year and switched her major from pharmacy to chemistry.

“In chemistry, you have to be meticulous, data-centered and kind of math-oriented,” Gravelle said. “That's a skill of hers—to sit down and work through a problem logically. Anna will not be rushed; she’ll look at a problem, think it through and figure stuff out. I think she's a much stronger student than she realizes, and I think the internship really helped build her confidence because she realized, ‘Oh, I can do good science.’”

Taylor is a commuter student, which at times can be challenging.

“Sometimes it’s hard to be involved with things on campus because I’m always driving back and forth,” she said. “It can be a little tough during the winter, but other than that it's not too terrible. I had the living-in-the-dorm experience at Pitt, but I'm OK with sleeping in my own bed.”

Photo of Anna Taylor sitting at a computer in a lab setting.

Anna Taylor in the lab during her internship with Parker Lord.

Anna Taylor standing next to the poster explaining the project

Anna Taylor with the poster about her internship with Parker Lord.

 

 

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