Student in the Spotlight Viel Glück* – Good fortune for Chad Spence, Harriot College, and Duke Energy Corporation
Chad Spence is on a quest. The Harriot College of Arts and Sciences Chemistry and German major is wisely using his undergraduate years as a time to explore. “There’s so much I want to do. If I could choose majors other than chemistry and German, I am drawn to philosophy and English.” With his wide-ranging interests that reach from the hard sciences to foreign languages to the humanities, Chad is mining the riches of the academy. Intrigued by both nuclear and organic chemistry, Chad’s specific course of study is yet to be determined, but the dedication to excellence and hard work already landed him a prestigious internship with Duke Energy Corporation in the summer of 2010. And an internship for Christmas break (2010). And another summer internship for 2011. While at Duke Energy in the summer of 2010, Chad worked in three different laboratory sections: the coal lab, the wet lab, and the sample receipt lab. Chad comments, “The Duke Energy coal lab is one of the best in the United States. Its upto-date instrumentation makes it a model for other units across the nation. And the sample receipt lab gave me the opportunity to work with analysts and send customer service reports out to various Duke Energy units. Both the sample receipt lab and the wet lab help Duke Energy operate in a manner that is environmentally responsible.” His supervising scientist, Troy Whisenant, writes: “Mr. Spence was a superior worker. [He] completed assignments in trace element analyses and nutrient analyses utilizing the Lachate and Dionex instrumentation. Basically, Chad completed the work responsibilities of a full time analyst… and contributed numerous suggestions for process improvements which have been adopted by the team.” Chad is a native North Carolinian, born in Charlotte and reared in the Mount Pleasant and Lincolnton areas where his father has pastored Baptist churches. Chad’s mother works with special needs children. So service at the high level that Chad has already demonstrated is in his blood. * much luck 18
There is a saying that “luck favors the prepared.” Chad Spence’s preparation in Harriot College’s Department of Chemistry along with his upbringing readied him for the professional responsibilities that he has already embraced. Inspired by Dr. Keith Holmes’s study sessions, Chad began developing the knowledge and the passion that have propelled him to professional level work at Duke Energy. And not content to remain where he is academically, Chad is studying Chinese and wants to learn Arabic, two languages of increasing world importance. He’s imagined a “world language,” too – a cross-cultural mode of international communication. Maybe Esperanto is an idea that is ready to be re-explored by visionary questers like Chad. Chad’s success is one among many for Harriot College and its Department of Chemistry. Troy Whisenant sent a glowing commendation of Chad and of Todd Linn, Duke Energy’s recent Analytical Laboratory hire and another ECU chemistry graduate. Chad Spence is deeply rooted in his spirituality and observes that moving to Greenville helped him to adapt to change, an important skill in the rapid dynamics of the twenty-first century. Somehow, he still finds time to play the guitar and to skateboard. Chad Spence’s quest for wide knowledge and committed service make him an exemplar of all that is best in a Harriot College liberal arts education and an exemplar of East Carolina University’s motto, servire. Spence preparing to receive samples for analysis.