Tenth year for the advancement of undergraduates in Chemistry

Kerrville, TX – Schreiner University’s professor of Chemistry, Dr. Kiley Miller, announced the 2019-2020 recipients of the Judith and Jo A. Beran Chemistry Award. This year’s recipients were Cameron Kelly – Organic Chemistry Award and Carma Cloudt – General Chemistry Award.

“The 2019-2020 academic year has come and gone, and what a change we have seen throughout these last ten years of the Judith and Jo A. Beran Endowment for the Advancement of Undergraduates in Chemistry,” said Miller. “On behalf of the whole Schreiner University community, we would like to thank both Judith and Jo A. Beran for their kind contribution to our student’s education.”

Cameron Kelly, the 2019-2020 recipient of the Judith and Jo A. Beran Organic Chemistry Award, has completed his second year at Schreiner University as a Chemistry Major with the hopes of either obtaining a graduate degree in Analytical Chemistry or Inorganic Chemistry. Kelly was also the recipient of the 2018-2019 Judith and Jo A. Beran General Chemistry Award.

“I would first like to thank you for awarding me with the Judith and Jo A. Beran Organic Chemistry Award and allowing me the honor of being the first person to win both of these prestigious awards,” said Kelly. “The Beran Stipend will help me in my academic pursuit by helping me be able to pay for my tuition and allowing me to further my desire for learning and understanding chemistry. Initially I came to Schreiner University as a Cellular Biology major with the intent of going to medical school, but as I was taking my first General Chemistry course, I had a change of heart. I had found Chemistry to be so much more interesting and engaging than Biology, that I had decided to change my major from Biology to Chemistry and I can happily say there has been no second thoughts about it. Even though Organic Chemistry was a difficult class I still really enjoyed it and the study habits that I gained from it. Though I no longer intend to go to medical school, I am planning on going to Graduate school in pursuit of a PhD in either Analytical Chemistry or Inorganic Chemistry.”

Carma Cloudt, the 2019-2020 recipient of the Judith and Jo A. Beran General Chemistry Award, has completed her first year at Schreiner University as a Biochemistry Major with the hopes of becoming a Neurosurgeon, to assist others as she was assisted early on in her life.

“I am so grateful to have been a recipient of this year’s award,” said Cloudt. “I am a Pre-Med student, so I hope that an achievement like this will help to build my undergraduate resume and be a step in the right direction to being accepted to my dream medical school. I chose the Biochemistry degree track because I have always dreamed of being in the medical field. I had brain surgery when I was fifteen, and ever since then, I have wanted to pursue a career in Pediatric Neurosurgery because my surgeon had such a powerful impact on me. Overall, I would just like to help people, because without the help of my surgeon, I probably wouldn’t be here today, which I am forever grateful for. I want to be able to help children in the same position as I was, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals. So, I am extremely grateful for being chosen for this award and I can’t wait to see where this path takes me.”

For more information about the Judith and Jo A. Beran Endowment for the Advancement of Undergraduates in Chemistry, contact Dr. Kiley Miller HIS-STEM Grant Director and Professor of Chemistry, at kpmiller@schreiner.edu.