Her eyes sparkle like the celestial spheres she describes when passionately recalling childhood dreams of one day working among the stars.
“I love space. It’s so cool, and I’ve always just been that girl that sees the astronauts and is like, ‘I want to be an astronaut,’” said Southern Miss senior Emily Kilgore, daydreaming of her youth. Reflecting on that, she added, “I don’t want to be an astronaut. I don’t want to go to space. I’ll put you in space, though.”
That obsession with the vast, unexplored reaches of space and a passion for learning grew into a love of science that she still carries today. Like many children, Kilgore, a polymer science and engineering major, fell in love with the idea of space at a young age. But unlike other children who dreamed of floating through the cosmos, Kilgore prefers staying on Earth and working with the materials that help catapult astronauts beyond the stratosphere.
“I absolutely love polymers. I love science. I love learning,” Kilgore said. “I always want to uncover the next breakthrough or discovery we can make.”
After discovering chemistry in eighth grade, Kilgore’s interest in science continued to grow. Learning about the elements and balancing chemical formulas drew her in, but what really sparked her interest was building on the foundations of what she had previously learned and discovering new sides to the subject.
As passionate as she is about polymer science, she wasn’t always sure about her career path. As a freshman, Kilgore was torn between accounting and forensic science — until she visited USM for Black and Gold Day and discovered polymer science. Seeing a table filled with the many materials made of polymers, her future was solidified.
“I love being able to take something that you can’t see with the naked eye and make it an actual solid material,” she said.
Now, only months away from graduation, Kilgore is working on her capstone project. She and a group of peers are tasked with creating a device that can be used in place of a tourniquet to stop severe bleeding. A previous group had the same concept; however, their design could not be used on multiple body types. Kilgore’s group is working to solve that problem.
“If you are a soldier in the field and you get shot or stabbed,” Kilgore explained, “you can just pull it out of your backpack and extend your survivability rate.”
From the battlefield to the classroom to the lab, Kilgore is an academic soldier in her own right. For the last two summers, she interned at Huntsman Corporation. She worked at the Macintosh site in process development, scaling and optimizing methods to create polymer products for the production line.
At the end of each internship, she presented her summer work to the company’s executive committee in Houston. While intimidating, the experience gave her a glimpse of the company beyond the lab. Her second year allowed her to reconnect with interns from the previous year and strengthen professional connections.
“Nerve-racking as I’ll get out as a little intern talking to these people that run a multibillion-dollar chemical company,” Kilgore said. “It’s kind of crazy, but it was fun.”
Though anxiety-inducing, Kilgore says the experience is one of her proudest accomplishments. She was able to demonstrate her passion for her work and her love of polymers through her presentation.
“I got told by some of the executives over there that they could tell that I loved what I did, and that they could tell that I was passionate about science,” she said. “But being able to show the work that I did and prove that it means something, that it is valuable to somebody, made me proud.”
Some have criticized Kilgore, saying she is too passionate about things they consider unimportant. Ignoring the critics, she chooses to express her enthusiasm for her work, and it has benefited her. The day after she returned to campus — two days after her presentation — Kilgore received a call from Colin Mitchell, Huntsman’s senior talent acquisition manager.
“I was like, ‘Oh Lord, what did I not do right? What did I leave in Texas? What happened?’” Kilgore recalled. “He called me and he was like, ‘We want to offer you a position with us for when you graduate.’”
Kilgore accepted. Starting early next summer, she will work as a full-time rotational engineer for Huntsman. Her time there not only earned her a job but also taught valuable lessons.
“So having to realize that my coworkers were not going to think of me as stupid for not knowing something,” Kilgore said. “Everyone you work with has a different mindset and knowledge set, so you can always ask questions and learn more.”
Making breakthroughs in the lab — and in her mindset — Kilgore struggled with admitting she didn’t know everything and putting aside pride to ask for help. After years in an academic environment where she felt expected to know everything, overcoming that mindset made her first week back at Huntsman difficult.
“Here, we’re in an environment where it seems like you have to know everything and you don’t,” she said. “So it’s knowing that asking questions is better than not knowing, because there’s always things to learn.”
In overcoming challenges, Kilgore has looked to others for inspiration. She credits Dr. Broadhead, an assistant teaching professor at USM, for inspiring her to consider teaching polymer science — something Kilgore hinted might still be in the cards. Knowing Broadhead is in her corner helped her keep going and reach the finish line.
“I am incredibly proud to have Emily as a student,” Broadhead said. “Her dedication, practical skills and innovative spirit truly stand out.”
From inspiration to influence, Kilgore has many people who helped get her where she is today. But for Kilgore, her biggest supporter and the one she calls her hero will always be her mother. Growing up, Kilgore’s mother impressed upon her the importance of determination, independence and a strong work ethic. With a strong sense of compassion, Kilgore always knew her mother would be ready with open arms and words of encouragement.
When the thoughts grow dark, that encouragement means everything. Like many people, Kilgore has struggled with impostor syndrome and feeling as if she doesn’t deserve to succeed. It can be hard to believe in yourself, but Kilgore has her mother, Broadhead and others to help her push through hard times and remind her she can do anything she puts her mind to.
“It’s knowing that I’ve worked hard enough to get here and that I have proven myself to multiple people to be here, and knowing that I have the skills to pay the bills — I can do it,” Kilgore said. “You just gotta do it. So it’s rough — I have almost ripped my hair out many times. But I’m not bald, and we’re still here.”
