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Even before commencement, Mariah Lynn Arral '18听knew exactly where she was headed: She鈥檒l begin her graduate program at Carnegie Mellon University this fall, embarking on a five-year plan to become a professor.

The major has no doubt about her love for research and teaching. During her four years at UNH, she鈥檚 been an undergraduate research assistant, a laboratory manager and a tutor in the UNH Mathematics Center (MaC). She conducted research in Surface Enhanced Electrochemical Diagnostic Sensors (SEEDS) Laboratory on detecting NG-Hydroxy-L-arginine听or NOHA, which has been found to cause cell death in听certain breast cancer cells.听This spring, she was honored with a award, which is opening up even more opportunities.

鈥淕etting this fellowship has allowed me to choose听my own faculty advisor and get a kickstart on my academic career,鈥� Arral explains. 鈥淎t听Carnegie Mellon University, professor Kathryn Whitehead was supportive of my dedication to听becoming a professor and听laid out a general five-year plan that aligned with what I wanted my graduate听career to be like.鈥�

Arral hopes her success at UNH and beyond will help other students. 鈥淥ne of the most important things that I want people to know is that听disabilities听don鈥檛听have to stop you from being at the top,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 have learning disabilities, as well as autism, and I have found my niche and am on my way to becoming successful in a career I care about. Perseverance through the听obstacles听one faces in life can lead to great success. This is because success听is not determined by your strengths, it鈥檚 measured by how you overcome your challenges.鈥�

With her focus now on the future, she is quick to credit her experiences at UNH 鈥� and the professors who have served as mentors along the way 鈥� with playing an integral part in her decision to pursue a career in academia. Her years at MaC, for example, helped shape her current path, while in UNH鈥檚 Society of Women Engineers, associate professor leadership "was both motivational and听inspirational," she says.

She also has high praise for Halpern and Adam St. Jean, lecturer of chemical engineering. Halpern's mentorship "has been one of the most fundamental听and influential听experiences of my听academic听career,鈥� she says, adding that in his SEEDS Lab, he created an "environment that allows us to听achieve听academic听success while also making lifelong friends.鈥�

In St. Jean鈥檚 classes, she adds, she was both challenged and听encouraged. "As someone who has a strong听desire to be a professor, it was amazing to have someone who was dedicated and听passionate about both chemical engineering听and teaching," she says, adding, "I hope that when I am a professor I can be a teacher like him.鈥�

Interested in a path like Mariah's?