Sky鈥檚 the Limit
Diana Csercse is gaining hands-on learning experience and making extraordinary career connections as the first-ever bioanalytical chemistry major at Illinois Tech.
Diana Csercse (BIOC 4th Year)Fourth-year student Diana Csercse is the first-ever Illinois Institute of Technology student to enroll in the new Bachelor of Science in Bioanalytical Chemistry program, which is the first program of its kind in the United States.
鈥淚 knew this was my chance to be unique, stand out, and excel,鈥 Csercse says. 鈥淚 saw an opportunity to be more advanced in a field of great importance.鈥
A native of Brasov, Romania, Csercse earned an associate鈥檚 degree in biotechnology from Triton College before transferring to Illinois Tech. During the spring 2021 semester she gained hands-on experience in an Analytical Method Development Lab course, working with gas chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, ultraviolet-visible spectrometry, and atomic spectrometry machines.
Csercse has also made valuable connections, including with industry experts who visit her courses as guest speakers. One of them鈥攁 bioanalytical chemist working at NASA鈥攎ade a particularly strong impression.
鈥淸The fact that she worked for NASA] gave me chills,鈥 Csercse says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know it was possible to be a chemist and work for NASA. I should鈥檝e known, but it was almost an unreachable goal in my brain. She showed me it is possible.鈥
Csercse says she now dreams of one day working for NASA, too.