Question: What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in at ASU?

Answer: Having never been exposed to coding before, when I took my first programming class, I realized how it provides one essentially limitless potential to create anything one might need or want, and that my initial prejudice against the subject of it being mostly memorization-based or akin to learning a foreign language was incorrect. Upon further compounding programming with biochemistry, I fully invested myself into the field of computational chemistry.

Q: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you or changed your perspective?

A: I was encouraged to admit when I have difficulty understanding something. People often feel pressure to deal with their confusion privately and hope to resolve it themselves, but it is a respectable skill to know how to reach out for help.

Q: Why did you choose ASU?

A: ASU provides an extraordinary number of opportunities outside of the classroom to apply yourself, whether that be research, internship and volunteer opportunities, recreational clubs and organizations, and so on. ASU provides an environment to truly challenge yourself to grow, academically or otherwise. 

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?

A: My Human Event teacher, Professor (Mina) Suk, taught me the importance of not being discouraged by your mistakes, and instead using them to push yourself to improve. You should always give yourself multiple chances, and your improvement may end up surprising yourself. 

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?

A: Never limit yourself and your opportunities — feel free to reach out to anything that you are interested in, whether it be an internship, a teacher’s assistant position, a recreational extracurricular and so on, no matter how seemingly far-fetched it may be.

Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?

A: The third floor of Noble (Library), specifically the individual study rooms with large windows. The third floor is always the quietest, and being in those rooms gave a sense of peace and focus. 

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A: After taking a year to work in industry and in biotech labs as a lab technician, I hope to continue to graduate school (computational chemistry) and work on earning a doctoral degree in order to pursue a career in academia and research.

Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?

A: I would make education and all supporting services around it, such as mental health, housing, food, health care and so on, more accessible and affordable, especially to underrepresented groups and those who otherwise do not have the access to these opportunities.  

Jenny Green

Clinical associate professor, School of Molecular Sciences

480-965-1430