Fellow:Ashley Switalski

Serving as a UIF Since: Spring 2017 School: Kettering University What she does now: Process Development Engineer, Corteva AgriScience What that means: Focuses on ways to improve and harness classical chemical engineering to produce new agricultural products from synthetic and biological pathways.
Contact her about: small school difficulties; administration challenges; team dynamics; anything STEM or chemistry related >=< (will always welcome chemistry puns!) Email: swit0249@kettering.edu Phone: (989) 448-9363

Ashley Switalski is a University Innovation Fellow from Kettering University in Flint, MI. She is currently a Senior III studying for her B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a Course of Study in Innovation to Entrepreneurship. Kettering University operates on a rotating three month basis between co-op and academic terms which allows students to graduate with 2.5 years of work experience. Ashley has worked for a variety of companies with focuses in biologic applications for plastic materials to biofermentation in agricultural products. 

At Kettering University, Ashley is involved with Kettering Entrepreneur Society (KES), Kettering Student Government (KSG), and Student Alumni Council (SAC). Kettering has become a second home for Ashley and it is rare not to catch her at an event on campus. She also spends her free time playing intramural sports with FIJI fraternity and working on miscellaneous projects in the university's t.space. Most recently she has been part of starting up the first professional co-ed fraternity on campus, Alpha Chi Sigma, which is focused on promoting the sciences in academia and industry.

One of her core I&E projects on campus is pushing for an adaptive technical elective system which would allow students to earn credits in various "pop-up" classes. This would allow students to explore topics outside of their primary major without being inhibited by workload or scheduling conflicts. Additionally, she has started discussions with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Kettering about renovating an empty office space into a new makerspace for the campus.

Known for being meticulous and well organized, her calendar is always kept up to date with peak operating hours between 10:00pm and 2:00am. As an unconventional chemical engineering student, she loves to share her story with young women interested in STEM and was one of the panel speakers for Michigan's Tech Savvy event. At work she has been a Science Ambassador for Dow AgroSciences and is an active Women Innovation Network (WIN) collegiate member at Dow Chemical.

In the next few years, she hopes to pursue a PhD in Biochemical Engineering and gain her private pilot's license. Learning opportunities are a key part of Ashley's life and she looks forward to making an impact on Kettering University's campus.

Feel free to contact Ashley at swit0249@kettering.edu.

Related Links

University Page: <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Kettering%20University">Kettering University</a>

Priorities Page: <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Kettering%20University%20Student%20Priorities">Kettering University Student Priorities</a>

Submission Videos: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgVGRb7pVqXsHOhGEcdcGaw">[1</a>]

Other Kettering UIF Fellows:

UIF Launch Term	Student Name and Bio	Kettering Academic Section
Spring 2017	<a href="Chelsea%20Carter">Chelsea Carter</a>	A-Section
Spring 2017	<a href="Eric%20Rickabaugh">Eric Rickabaugh</a>	A-Section
Spring 2017	Ashley Switalski	B-Section
Spring 2017	<a href="Shane%20Thiede">Shane Thiede</a>	B-Section
Spring 2016	<a href="Moe%20Ghias">Moe Ghias</a>	A-Section
Spring 2016	<a href="Jace%20C.%20Stokes">Jace C. Stokes</a>	A-Section
Spring 2015	<a href="Cheyne%20Westerman">Cheyne Westerman</a>	A-Section
Spring 2015	<a href="Alan%20Xia">Alan Xia</a>	A-Section
Spring 2014	<a href="Hunter%20Casbeer">Hunter Casbeer</a>	A-Section
Spring 2014	<a href="Saheb%20Kapoor">Saheb Kapoor</a>	A-Section