BRANDI CAUGHMAN

In May 2006, I graduated with honors from South Cobb High School and headed to Georgia Southern University as a chemistry pre-dentistry major. I'd always excelled in chemistry and the subject matter is extremely interesting to me. While at Georgia Southern University, I was involved on campus in several ways. I worked as a peer leader and peer instructor for the office of First Year Experience and joined the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. As a peer leader, I worked with faculty to bridge the traditional gap between high school and college by co-teaching orientation classes. I provided a student perspective and served as a positive role model for my students. Over time, I gained leadership experience and each semester I took on more responsibility. Eventually, as a peer instructor, I was given my own section and allowed to fully take the reins of the course. In October 2006, just months after starting college, I was hired as a lifeguard at my campus recreation facility. I maintained this position until after my graduation in 2010. In my years at CRI, I served as a team leader, lifeguard instructor, and water safety instructor and upon my leaving I received an honorary award for my service to CRI.

Going into college, I planned to go to dental school to become an orthodontist but sometime my senior year that changed. I was sitting in my instrumental analysis class one morning when it hit me. I decided then that I wanted to work in industry and obtain a technical secondary degree. In September 2010, I was awarded an internship at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with the Department of Energy in Richland, WA. I worked as an intern for two appointments and was hired as a Post Bachelors Research Associate immediately after. I held this position for two and a half years. During my three years at PNNL, I gave three oral presentations at national conferences and local venues and published several journal articles. In July 2013, I began working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia as an ORISE Research Fellow followed by a Non-Infectious Disease Research Scientist. I conducted analytical chemistry techniques on blood, urine, and serum to test for environmental toxins such as lead, mercury and arsenic. I graduated with my PSM Molecular Biosciences from Washington State University in December 2013.

After five years in the lab, I decided I wanted to move into a different type of role and embarked on my Master of Administration in Research Administration at Central Michigan University which I completed in April 2017. I was a study director and project manager for three years. Currently I am a Manager of Project Management at a medical device testing company.