“It is important to have role models you can identify with, especially when so many of us don't even make it to college,” says Marie Little Fawn Agan, whose path to higher ed was an arduous one, cleared through adversity and luck.

But once she set foot on campus, Agan uncovered a love for science and medicine, and the work ethic instilled in her by the foster family who welcomed her  when she was eleven pushed her to earn degrees in Biology and Chemistry from St. Michael’s College. A career as a bioanalytical chemist and teacher followed, leading to a new passion for research.

Balancing responsibilities of work and family (Agan has six children), she set her sights on UVM’s Medical Laboratory Science master’s degree. One step led to the next, and as Agan learned more about the application of bioanalytical and clinical diagnostic techniques – including mass spectrometry, extractions, and molecular detection methods such as polymerase chain reaction - she was inspired to co-found Norwich University’s Wastewater-based Epidemiology Initiative to track and monitor SARS-CoV-2 infections. Which prompted her interest to pursue a concurrent master’s degree in public health at UVM.

Along the way, Agan joined the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Minority Affairs, and together with her colleagues, recently investigated the underrepresentation of minority groups among higher education faculty. Agan hopes their initial findings will equip hiring committees to recruit and support diverse applicants and enhance awareness of the importance of diversity in the higher education setting.

“Having representation among faculty can significantly improve the odds of success for students who identify as an underrepresented minority,” Agan says. “Much, much more work needs to be done to ensure we are not only recruiting qualified and diverse faculty, but also mentoring and training them to be the best educators and researchers we can.”

Just as Agan’s mentors did.

Marie Agan is a dual Medical Laboratory Science and Public Health master’s degree candidate, and lecturer and laboratory coordinator for Norwich University.