Richelle Thomas

 

Hometown: Dallas, Texas

Research Area: Tissue Engineering

What I like about The University of  Texas at Austin: I like the size of the school. My undergraduate institution was fairly small so I enjoy being at a large school now with so many resources available for students. I also love Austin! The city is great and makes attending the university that much better.

The lab I work in and my role: I work in the Schmidt Lab. My role is to get a PhD!

Student involvement: The Black Graduate Student Association, The National (and UT Chapter) Executive Board of the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Graduate Student Association.

What I think is unique about the department: The department is full of very intelligent people who are also real people that like to have fun. The department values camaraderie among the students and that speaks volumes about the collaborative nature of the department. I have made genuine friendships here. I think that is a unique and positive quality about this department in particular.

Three things most people don’t know about me:

1. I love to garden. I have my own vegetable garden where I (attempt to) grow most, or all of my vegetables.

2. I like to salsa dance. I am still learning, but it is something I really enjoy.

3. My family is from the small but beautiful island of Barbados. I have a genuine love for the place and some of my research will be conducted there.