Scholarship support helps CEAS student stay at UC

Temple Corbett was meeting with her mentor in his office when the tears finally broke through. In the midst of an academically challenging semester, everything seemed to be going wrong for the University of Cincinnati Student.

She had been sick more often than usual. Her beloved grandfather had passed away. And water damage in her family’s home had exposed asbestos and mold, forcing her to move into a hotel. Burdened by financial worries, she had lost focus on her school work.

“It was a lot on me, and I was struggling to find ways to make money,” recalls Corbett, who is majoring in chemical engineering with a minor in biomedical electronics and computing in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science.

“I started not doing as well in my classes because I was trying to figure out how I was going to work while in school. One day I broke down. I was crying in my mentor’s office.”

She was pointed to a resource that perfectly suited Corbett’s needs. An application was submitted, and Corbett was granted sufficient funds to remain in the hotel until she could move back into her family’s house. For that, Corbett will be forever grateful. “It took a lot of stress off my back,” she says. “It also showed me how much UC cares about their students and the generosity of donors. I knew about the academic resources, but I didn’t know that we had an emergency fund for students in situations like mine. It impacted my spirit and helped me refocus on school.”

Corbett, who is from Cincinnati, says she “blossomed into UC” as a high school student while attending several of UC’s academic summer camps. A bio-engineering camp at UC opened her eyes to how the natural sciences and computer science function together, and she began to envision a future in engineering. 

A first-generation college student, Corbett’s transition to UC proved more difficult than she had imagined. “You come in from high school thinking, ‘I got straight A’s in high school, I’ll be fine. I’m going to be a stellar student.’ And then first year hit and I thought, ‘Oh wow, maybe not.’ I kind of lost confidence that I could do engineering.”

Encouragement from her academic advisor and mentors within the college helped her gain her footing. “I became my own person and learned how to ask for help and resources, which is something I never did before.”

Infused with new confidence, Corbett flourished in her co-op segments, relishing “the opportunity to see how a real engineer operates.” She also has assumed leadership roles within the university, serving on the CEAS Tribunal for three years, as a CEAS Ambassador, and as the current president of UC’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. NSBE, she says, is where she found her UC family and “the most connections for what I want to do.” Her goal is to become a design engineer for a medical device company or to work in a quality assurance or quality control capacity for a pharmaceutical company.

To those who donate to CEAS, Corbett expresses her deepest thanks. “It doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated,” she says. “It takes the stress off you and the people who care about you. I can’t find the right words to express how grateful I am to those who donate so that people like me can get their degrees and make something of themselves.”

Featured image at top: Temple Corbett is currently a student in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science. Photo/UC Alumni Association