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BS, chemistry (Specialized Curriculum)

Awards: Reynold C. Fuson Award for excellence in undergraduate research

Future: Pursuing a PhD in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.

Activities: R.E.A.C.T., American Chemical Society chapter, Illini Strings, Chem 150 Peer Mentor/Teaching Assistant.

Undergrad highlight: A highlight of my career at UIUC has been being a part of the student chapter of the American Chemical Society. Being able to have a close group of people also interested in chemistry has helped me to advance my career and make a lot of friends!

You are an Illinois alum! It feels crazy that I am already graduating. I feel like I was just starting out as a freshman, time really flew by!

Why Illinois? I would recommend UIUC to a prospective student because of all the opportunities that UIUC provides. There are so many resources for getting started with undergraduate research, getting internships, getting help with classes, etc. Regardless of your choice of major, UIUC will be able to provide you with everything you need to get you to wherever you want to go.

Undergraduate research: Kennebeck was involved in undergraduate research all four years at Illinois, starting in second semester of her freshman year in the Silverman group working with DNAzymes.

“One cool part of research was how involved undergraduates get to be in my lab. When I was first starting out in research, I was trained by a more senior undergraduate and assisted with her project. Once she graduated, I was able to further her project and I was able to mentor new undergraduates that joined the lab. It was super cool being able to take what I learned and help other people get started with research as well,” she said.