As a high school student, Isaac Subuloye noticed many of his peers were intimidated by chemistry. Many of his teachers struggled to make chemistry interesting or present the topic in a way that was easily understood by students. However, that didn’t deter Subuloye. He decided to pursue chemistry at a higher level so he could see whether it was actually difficult, or if his teachers simply needed to take a different approach to teaching. 

Growing up in southwestern Nigeria, Subuloye earned his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Chemistry from the Federal University of Technology Akure before his recent admission to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). What set UNC apart for Subuloye was the Chemical Education graduate program.  

“I wanted to be able to teach chemistry in a way that makes it very enticing to people. One thing I've realized is you really need to understand the subject matter to be good at teaching it,” said Subuloye. 

Despite having a clear goal for his time at UNC, it was still daunting for Subuloye to travel to another country to pursue his degree. Thanks to the friendly environment the students and faculty have created on the Greeley campus, Subuloye has had an easy time adjusting and couldn’t imagine having a better experience anywhere else. 

“I feel really at home,” said Subuloye, “I don't feel too homesick being at UNC because it gives me the kind of environment that I need to try with my academics. It's been wonderful so far.” 

As an international student, finances were another uncertainty for Subuloye. He described how many students from developing countries like himself can’t expect financial support from loved ones, adding additional pressure during the pursuit of their degrees. However, with the support of the Loretta Jones Scholarship, he has been able to alleviate some of his financial worries. 

Loretta Jones grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin, pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry at Loyola University and her master’s degree in Chemistry at the University of Chicago. She worked for three years at Argonne National Laboratory and helped her husband start an electronics manufacturing firm. After taking some time to raise her family, she returned to graduate work, but this time at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she pursued a Doctorate of Arts and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Chemistry. Jones’s love for teaching chemistry enabled her to get a postdoctoral placement at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she made documentary-style videos to teach general chemistry.  

After her postdoctoral placement, Jones became a lecturer and associate director of general chemistry at the University of Illinois. During that time, she realized conducting research fascinated her, and UNC had a research position in chemical education open, so she joined the faculty in 1992. 

Having won several awards for her research on chemistry education while working at UNC, the university’s dedication to improving the field played a crucial role in her creation of a scholarship for students pursuing a doctorate in Chemical Education. Jones wants her scholarship to go to a student who is excited about teaching and interested in new ways to help students learn, which is a perfect fit for someone like Subuloye. For a student like Subuloye who has the passion and drive to help students understand chemistry, but would have struggled without additional financial support, Jones’s scholarship makes a huge difference. 

“Having a scholarship takes our mind off our financial need to focus on the academics, to focus on the things that really matter. It really means everything to someone like me,” said Subuloye. 

After Subuloye finishes his doctorate, he plans to return to Nigeria and find a job teaching chemistry. He's excited to help change the common misconception that chemistry is a difficult subject to learn, planning to be the teacher he always wanted in his own classrooms. Wanting to improve the state of academics in Nigeria as a whole, Subuloye is excited to shift the mindset to one that values education and encourages young people to pursue it.