Meet Courtney | Physics and Chemistry double major
Courtney Bailey
This past month we had the pleasure of interviewing THE Courtney Bailey. Courtney is a physics and chemistry double major with a research focus in analytical chemistry. Be sure to keep reading to hear exclusive insights from Courtney herself!
1. What do you love about your work/field?
I love my work because everyday I am challenged. In STEM instead of fearing failure you learn to expect it and use it as a learning tool rather than a loss. Every experiment that has an outcome different than what you expected is still creation of new knowledge. For example, we may now know that our experiment may not produce “x”, but it does produce “y”. In a world so obsessed with perfection, a field in which some of the world’s best innovation comes from total failure has been a breath of fresh air.
2. What got you interested in your specific STEM field?
I am a physics and chemistry double major with a research focus in analytical chemistry. In high school, Dr. Padmanabhan, my on-level (yes, gasp I know) physics teacher was sarcastic and smart but also very blunt. One day, in a makeup lab I was struggling and another student asked if she was going to help me and she said, “I am not worried about Courtney, she is smart and I know she can figure it out” and to hear that from the lady who told us dumb questions do in fact exist and we ask them everyday opened my eyes. I may struggle, but I could always figure things out. In college, when torn between two subjects I choose both because even if it was our two hardest majors and had only been accomplished once in recent years by another student, I knew I’d figure things out.
3. What advice would you give to young girls interested in STEM subjects?
My advice to young stem majors is to never count yourself out. You may look different than the students around you, maybe you talk more than them or forget your homework sometimes but there is no “right” person to be a scientist. I know professors with doctorates in biorganic chemistry who failed the first organic chemistry course they ever took. Your path may not look like point A to point B, you might take until path Z but keeping clear goals and maintaining mental/physical health will take you where you want to go.
You can follow Courtney's journey on Instagram at @c.bailey.13
