Eduarda Stein Christ is on the right track. The recent TLU grad finished her undergraduate career with a flourish, earning summa cum laude status and a degree in biochemistry. 

Stein Christ came to TLU in 2021 as an exchange student from Brazil, via the Evangelical Lutheran Church International Women Leaders Program. She’s accomplished a great deal over the past four years, including becoming a member (and then president) of the prestigious Black and Gold President’s Council, co-president of the TLU Women’s Association, and working as a peer academic coach and collaborative learning assistant for General Chemistry I and II. Other campus involvement includes the Pi Rho Chemistry Club, TLU Math Club (she minored in mathematics), and TLU’s chapter of Alpha Chi National Honor Society. 

This fall, Stein Christ will be off to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—one of the top ten schools in the nation for chemistry—where she’s set to pursue her PhD. She’s interested in studying inorganic chemistry and materials science. As for her hopes and dreams beyond that, she’s keeping an open mind. “As of now, I am thinking about becoming an academic researcher,” she says. “But just as I treated my undergraduate years, I want to stay open to the possibilities and let my experiences shape me and lead me to where I am needed.”

As those possibilities unfold before her, Stein Christ hasn’t lost sight of the gifts of her undergrad years. “Not only did my classes teach me a lot and prepare me with the necessary skills in a variety of ways, but my professors, especially Dr. Bray and Dr. Thompson, were also very helpful and encouraging,” she says, adding that Bray and Thompson were actually the ones who encouraged her to consider UIUC for her PhD, then guided her through the application process. “Another thing that I feel grateful for from the TLU chemistry department was the constant incentive to do research,” she adds. 

Stein Christ took part in research every summer at TLU, through the BEAKER (Building Excellence by Advancing Knowledge through Experimental Research) scholars’ program and the SURE (STEM Undergraduates Reaching for Excellence) research program, and even got the opportunity to do research at Florida State University thanks to Thompson's recommendation. “I am pretty sure that all of these experiences favored me as a candidate (at UIUC), and I am glad that the chemistry department and the STEM department in general push you to start doing research as early as your freshman year,” she says.

Stein Christ is well and truly ready to take the next steps in her educational journey with confidence. “I do feel prepared,” she says, “and I believe TLU gave me more than what I needed to succeed!”