{"id":9691,"date":"2023-06-15T10:44:42","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T15:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&#038;p=9691"},"modified":"2023-06-15T10:44:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T15:44:42","slug":"uw-eau-claire-grad-says-undergraduate-research-and-faculty-mentors-made-rhodes-scholarship-possible","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-eau-claire-grad-says-undergraduate-research-and-faculty-mentors-made-rhodes-scholarship-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-Eau Claire grad says undergraduate research and faculty mentors made Rhodes Scholarship possible"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_9694\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9694\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/06\/EAU_Rhodes-Scholar_research_20996-20230414-NCUR-0919.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-9694\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/06\/EAU_Rhodes-Scholar_research_20996-20230414-NCUR-0919-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Dr. Tayo Sanders, a UW-Eau Claire graduate who was selected for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship program, returning to his alma mater this spring to talk about how his faculty mentors and undergraduate research experiences continue to shape his life and career. (Photos by Bill Hoepner\/UW-Eau Claire)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9694\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Tayo Sanders, a UW-Eau Claire graduate who was selected for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship program, returned to his alma mater this spring to talk about how his faculty mentors and undergraduate research experiences continue to shape his life and career. (Photos by Bill Hoepner\/UW-Eau Claire)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tayo Sanders II was a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire junior when he got a message from his research mentor encouraging him to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship, something he\u2019d never heard of before.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">When he researched it, Sanders was certain he\u2019d misunderstood her message because the Rhodes program \u2014 which includes a full scholarship to study at the prestigious Oxford University in England \u2014 typically selects students from internationally known universities like Harvard and Yale, not regional public universities in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI actually assumed I was spelling it wrong, so I tried it different ways before calling her back to say I think she made a mistake,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fortunately, Sanders listened when\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/profiles\/dahljenn\/\">Dr. Jennifer Dahl<\/a>\u00a0assured him there was no mistake \u2014 the UW-Eau Claire chemistry and biochemistry professor believed he belonged in the elite scholarship program, whose members include former U.S. presidents, CEOs of international corporations and famous artists.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">A year later, Sanders, who graduated from UW-Eau Claire with a degree in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/academics\/programs\/undergraduate\/materials-science\/\">materials science<\/a>\u00a0with emphases in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/academics\/college-arts-sciences\/departments-programs\/chemistry-biochemistry\/\">chemistry<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/academics\/college-arts-sciences\/departments-programs\/liberal-studies\/\">liberal studies<\/a>, was one of 32 Americans named 2015 Rhodes Scholars. In 2019, he earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering from Oxford.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now carrying the title of Dr. Tayo Sanders, the Blugold returned to UW-Eau Claire in April to share his story of growing from a nervous first-generation college student into a Rhodes Scholar. He was among the speakers at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, an event hosted by the university that brought 3,600 undergraduate students and their faculty mentors to campus.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/4W_v_NUm2-o\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI didn\u2019t quite appreciate how much happiness would come back to me when I walked on campus,\u201d Sanders said of his alma mater. \u201cSome of my warmest and most incredible memories were made here. Some of my most significant relationships happened at this institution, and some of the most formative experiences of my life happened here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Undergraduate research and his faculty mentors were at the center of all of it, Sanders said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">While congratulating current students on presenting their research at a national conference, Sanders told them this is the beginning \u2014 not the end \u2014 of how their undergraduate research experiences will shape their future lives and careers.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The knowledge they gain through their research is important, but what matters even more is building lasting relationships with faculty mentors, discovering they can do hard things, becoming comfortable with failing and realizing that embracing one opportunity often leads to many more, Sanders said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">All those things and more were possible for him because of the opportunities and mentors he found at UW-Eau Claire, said Sanders, who now serves as the director of the Southern Research Venture Studio, an organization focused on commercializing early-stage life sciences technology in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously worked with investors and startups in biotech and industrial technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cBeyond applying classroom concepts to the real world, the research process sharpens our curiosity, hones our ability to pivot and reminds us that failure is more common than success,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Embracing opportunities, building relationships<\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">A curious kid, Sanders always was asking questions, eager to figure out how the world around him worked. His parents encouraged his curiosity and his academic aspirations, but since neither had attended college, they were limited in how they could help him navigate college and his future career.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI was blessed to have parents who supported my education in the most positive ways,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI knew whatever I wanted to do they would be behind me. But they didn\u2019t really know the options. I came to UW-Eau Claire more than a little clueless of college life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since he excelled at math and science, Sanders started college on the pre-med track, assuming medical school was the only path that aligned with his academic interests. At the time, he didn\u2019t know being a scientist was a real career option. He never imagined his current job \u2014 serving as a liaison between science and industry \u2014 even existed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sanders started thinking a little differently after he and his father were on campus for freshman orientation and, by chance, met\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/profiles\/evansmm\/\">Dr. Matt Evans<\/a>, director of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/blugold-fellows\/\">Blugold Fellowship<\/a>, a scholarship program that connects new freshmen and faculty research mentors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHe had one slot left, and he invited me to fill it,\u201d Sanders said of Evans. \u201cI had no idea what research even meant, but still I said yes. I love science, and this was a way to get back to what I love most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Two weeks into his freshman year, Sanders said Evans \u201ckicked me out of the nest and told me to go talk to a professor; to find a research mentor.\u201d He liked chemistry, so he asked his professor if he had openings in his lab. He didn\u2019t, but his wife, Dr. Jennifer Dahl, was nearby and invited him to visit her lab.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhen I got there, a student was looking at silver nanoparticles under a microscope,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cIt was cool, so I said \u2018I\u2019m in.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Despite being a freshman with no research experience, Sanders quickly became the \u201cright arm\u201d of Dahl in her nanoparticle research.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt was an absolute blessing having such an ambitious and talented student join my group so early in my career,\u201d Dahl said. \u201cWe did all the things we hoped to accomplish. We achieved our goals in the lab, shared our science at conferences and published our work together. Those are all hallmarks of success for a research experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">However, research success was just the beginning for Sanders. When people outside of UW-Eau Claire began noticing his talent, he had even more opportunities to grow as a researcher and scientist, Dahl said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sanders was awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, an honor that goes to the top science students in the country. His research was published in professional journals, and he presented his research findings at the local, state and national levels. With funding from the National Science Foundation&#8217;s Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, he spent a summer studying nanoparticles with a research team in France.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then came the Rhodes Scholarship, often described as the best-known award for international study, and the most famous academic award available to American college graduates. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and other attributes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sanders said none of it would have been possible without Dahl taking a chance on him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAs a new freshman, I was given an incredible opportunity to start doing undergraduate research,\u201d Sanders says. \u201cI was literally terrified. I was excited but also terrified. But I\u2019m glad I took that opportunity because from it, I was encouraged to take so many more opportunities that I wasn\u2019t even aware existed, including the Rhodes Scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dahl\u2019s confidence in him never wavered, even when \u201cI had no idea what I was doing,\u201d Sanders said. She was just happy to have a student who was eager to be part of the project, he said. \u201cThe only thing I ever heard from her was excitement and encouragement to keep going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Tayo Sanders credits Dr. Jennifer Dahl, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, with introducing him to the world of undergraduate research while also encouraging him to pursue and embrace opportunities on campus and around the world.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9698\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9698\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/06\/EAU_Rhodes-Scholar_research_Sanders_Dahl_20997-20230414-NCUR-0734-four-three.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9698\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/06\/EAU_Rhodes-Scholar_research_Sanders_Dahl_20997-20230414-NCUR-0734-four-three.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Dr. Tayo Sanders (left) who credits Dr. Jennifer Dahl, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, with introducing him to the world of undergraduate research while also encouraging him to pursue and embrace opportunities on campus and around the world.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/06\/EAU_Rhodes-Scholar_research_Sanders_Dahl_20997-20230414-NCUR-0734-four-three.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2023\/06\/EAU_Rhodes-Scholar_research_Sanders_Dahl_20997-20230414-NCUR-0734-four-three-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9698\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Tayo Sanders credits Dr. Jennifer Dahl, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, with introducing him to the world of undergraduate research while also encouraging him to pursue and embrace opportunities on campus and around the world.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">With Dahl and other UW-Eau Claire faculty encouraging him, Sanders said he \u201cstarted believing in myself a bit more. I started taking chances, believing what they were saying. If they thought I could so something, even if I wasn\u2019t sure I could, I\u2019d try anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coming into college, Sanders says he was \u201cterrified of failure, of letting people down who took a chance on me.\u201d His UW-Eau Claire mentors taught him to \u201cappreciate that failure is a process,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cUW-Eau Claire gave me the space to practice failing,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI worked hard and did well academically, but my research was a lot of me learning to be OK not being the best, not doing things correctly, making mistakes, and learning how to draw insight and grow from it. That\u2019s a skill that\u2019s absolutely invaluable. Dr. Dahl taught me that failure is the process, not the metric.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being a Rhodes Scholar<\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sanders also was nervous going to Oxford, knowing that many of the other scholars came from backgrounds far different from his own. He quickly learned he had no reason to worry.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cPeople were intellectually curious, but mostly I was really impressed by the depths of relationships I made there,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI met some of my closest friends and mentors at Oxford. I didn\u2019t expect to develop such a rich community there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">At Oxford, Sanders continued the research he started at UW-Eau Claire, building on the knowledge and skills he\u2019d learned as an undergraduate. He also began to think about his future.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI spent four years having an incredible time working on the research and experiencing the Rhodes program and community,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI was challenged in ways I couldn\u2019t have imagined. I also spent time developing my own perspectives and ideas about what I wanted to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sanders began thinking about how he could serve as a \u201cchampion for ideas that have potential to make a difference in the world.\u201d He became \u201cfascinated\u201d by the idea of being a bridge between science and business, \u201ctaking what we do in the lab and moving it into the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">His current position allows him to do just that by bringing science and industry together, Sanders said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s really about using my skills as a scientist and researcher to be a translator for the rest of the world,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cBeing a translator, being able to communicate why research matters, why science matters, being able to support and mentor other folks trying to do similar things. I\u2019m finding a lot of enjoyment in that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sanders is UW-Eau Claire\u2019s second Rhodes Scholar. In 2005, Chauncy S. Harris Jr. also earned the honor. He graduated from UW-Eau Claire with degrees in geography and history.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Written by Judy Berthiaume | Video by Glen Mabie<\/p>\n<p>Link to original story: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/news\/news\/blugold-credits-uw-eau-claire-mentors-opportunities-with-preparing-him-to-be-a-rhodes-scholar-5720\/\">https:\/\/www.uwec.edu\/news\/news\/blugold-credits-uw-eau-claire-mentors-opportunities-with-preparing-him-to-be-a-rhodes-scholar-5720\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tayo Sanders II was a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire junior when he got a message from his research mentor encouraging him to apply for a Rhodes Scholarship, something he\u2019d never heard of before. When he researched it, Sanders was certain he\u2019d misunderstood her message because the Rhodes program \u2014 which includes a full scholarship to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":9694,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[96],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-9691","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-eau-claire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/9691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=9691"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=9691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}