East St. Louis Charter High School Alumna Earns Doctorate in Chemistry
A Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) alumna recalls when her late grandfather’s homework requirements consisted of her reading the dictionary and performing well on coursework.
A loving, motivating and cultivating environment is what helped steer Chasity Bre’Shay Love-Nkansah to academic excellence. Her most recent educational feat occurred on May 18 when she earned a doctorate in chemistry from Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind. Her research focused on using analytical chemistry to characterize and detect small biological compounds, while also developing mass spectrometry methods to improve ion sensitivity.
And while Love-Nkansah received support from her mother, grandparents (the late Maurice Tweed and Lorraine Tweed) and the CHS administration and staff, others calculated a bleak future for her because of the challenges of her hometown environment.
“I’ve had to prove to them wrong every step of the way,” said Love-Nkansah. “When I was leaving high school, some people told me that although I was one of the smartest students at Charter (High School), I would not succeed in the real world, because things are harder and more difficult.”
Love-Nkansah graduated as valedictorian from CHS in 2005. She graduated cum laude in 2009 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, with a bachelor’s in chemistry and a specialization in forensics. In expressing interest to go to Purdue, one SIUC instructor warned her of the difficulties of getting into the doctoral program. She passed departmental qualifiers to enter the doctoral program in six months and went to Purdue on a full-ride teaching and researching stipend.
“Chasity has always been a driven child,” said Lorraine Tweed. “At the age of eight, she was looking through her aunt’s high school award book and said she was going to have more awards in her book when she graduated … and she did.”
As a student, Love-Nkansah got A’s and B’s and had an inclination to the science field, said her grandmother.
“My husband was strict about education and discipline,” Tweed said. “Chasity never gave us any trouble. But there was that one time when she knew her curfew was at 11 p.m. She came home at 11:05 p.m., and the door was locked.
“She never did that again.”
Love-Nkansah’s stories of success came as no surprise to Anthony Neal, former CHS director and president and partner of Educational Equity Consultants in St. Louis.
“I always knew from day one that Chasity was going to stand out,” said Neal, CHS director from 2001-2009. “It was her demeanor and willingness to learn that said to me she was going to be a huge success.
“When you hold high expectations for students, it should not be a surprise when they excel.”
With a bright future ahead, Love-Nkansah is seeking the perfect occupation that fits her skill set, drive and passion. Love-Nkansah has even bigger plans for herself and her communities, both locally and globally.
“I see myself making a mark by being a support vessel for many young underrepresented and neglected children in this world,” she said. “I want to establish tutoring and mentoring facilities in the STEM fields in low-income neighborhoods. The world’s daily operations evolve around the STEM fields. We need to get our children prepared by equipping them with networking skills, providing tutors and mentors, and having accessible resources.
“It could be called ‘Love Your Neighborhood Tutoring and Mentoring.’ I would eventually like to expand the program internationally, because of ‘whom much is given, much is required,’” she said, quoting a portion of Bible scripture found in Luke 12:48.
The mission of the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School is to prepare students who are career and college-ready upon graduation. To achieve this mission, the school and its staff will positively impact the educational and economic lives of East St. Louis, Illinois youth through individualized instruction in core academic subjects, exploration of career interests and aptitudes, assistance in realizing students’ talents, high academic goals, and expectations that graduates will become competitive employees for the 21st Century.
Photos:
Dr. Chasity B. Love-Nkansah is shown before and after her doctoral graduation ceremonies.
