Profile of Current Wilkes Honors College Student:  Nathan Van Zee

Jupiter, FL (August 27, 2009) – Nathan Van Zee is a senior at Florida Atlantic University’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, with a concentration in chemistry.  His hometown is Lake Worth, Florida, and Nathan graduated from Summit Christian High School in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2006.  Nathan chose to go to FAU’s Wilkes Honors College because he “appreciated the small class size[s] and the fact that that even the freshman classes are taught by actual professors and not just graduate students or teacher assistants.”  Like many other Honors College students, Nathan was also excited about the school’s close proximity to Scripps Research Florida.

Nathan has been an outstanding student since his arrival in Jupiter.  He was chosen to receive the prestigious Henry Morrison Flagler Scholarship, a merit-based scholarship that grants student-leaders a full-tuition fellowship and the opportunity to participate in annual enrichment programs.  Nathan’s name also appears frequently on the Dean’s list and President’s list because of his high academic performance.  In the summer of 2009, he received another honor by being awarded the American Chemical Society’s International Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Scholarship, which covered his expenses to conduct research in Germany and attend to conferences in Washington, D.C. 

During the 9-week REU program at the Institute of Food Chemistry at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, Nathan investigated halogenated natural products in marine sediment and water samples collected from the Great Barrier Reef area off the coast of Queensland, Australia.  “Since this was the first time I had travelled out of the country, I was extremely excited to live in Stuttgart and see the surrounding area. I was able to visit a couple large German cities such as Munich, Mannheim, and Cologne.  I also explored a number of smaller towns including Heidelberg, Tübingen, Esslingen, Konstanz, and Bad Urach. I made side trips to Strassbourg in France and the Rhine Falls in Switzerland, and found the area to be absolutely beautiful.”

A faculty member at the Wilkes Honors College helped cultivate Nathan’s research skills.  “Last semester, I began working on organic chemistry research here at the HC with Dr. Veljko Dragojlovic. It has been a great experience working with him and gaining additional research experience. We were very excited to publish our results in Organic Letters this past summer. This work will ultimately be a part of my thesis.”

Nathan also credits the Honors College with helping him to achieve this success.  “The HC has given me an excellent education in chemistry. It has provided me with the knowledge and skills necessary to be competitive for scholarships and other opportunities such as those I received in Germany. Ultimately, it has successfully prepared me for attending a competitive graduate school and pursuing a career in chemistry.”

For prospective Honors College students, Nathan Van Zee has this to say:
“Be ready to do a lot of work. The only way to be successful here is to put in a lot of time studying, working and interning. It is a huge amount of work, but it is extremely rewarding. It will pay off.”

Byline: Tamara Howard