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鈥淚鈥檓 very passionate about interdisciplinary education,鈥 says Jami Summey-Rice, an undergraduate chemical engineering student at the Univ. of Houston (UH). 鈥淭he lack of interdisciplinary education at the university level is detrimental to us being able to solve societal problems.鈥
Summey-Rice places a lot of importance on broadening the scope of her knowledge across disciplines in an effort to create positive change. In 2012, after nearly a decade in sales management, she decided to commit to a full-time undergraduate program. Since then, she has held internships that span the breadth of chemical engineering 鈥 from chemicals production to public policy.
鈥淐oming back to school means a lot of things,鈥 she says. It鈥檚 a huge financial and time commitment, especially after starting a family, she states. 鈥淵ou value education differently. The money means more; the time means more.鈥
Summey-Rice admits that she was bored as a sales manager, and was drawn to the opportunities that chemical engineering offered. 鈥淚 was ready for a new challenge,鈥 she recalls. 鈥淪ales management is commission-only, you don鈥檛 get vacation, and you work nights, weekends, and holidays....
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