What: Interview and photo op with Kara Arnold, chemistry graduate and Miss Utah

Date: Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012

Time: Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Place: Thatcher Building for Biological and Biophysical Chemistry, U of U campus

 

Dec. 26, 2012 – Kara Arnold, who spent the past year serving as Miss Utah, graduated from the University of Utah this year with a degree in chemistry and a minor in music. Now she’s about to leave for the Miss America Pageant.

If she loses, she’ll go straight to medical school. If she wins, she’ll continue to promote her platform for education: “Discover Your Potential – Step Up with STEM.” (STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.)

The university is hosting an interview and photo opportunity on Dec. 27 in the newly completed Thatcher Chemistry Building. News media are invited to schedule interviews and photos with Arnold from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To promote STEM, Arnold has traveled across Utah speaking to students about the importance of science education. She has focused on 4th through 9th graders.

“That’s where kids are deciding that school is important,” Arnold explains. “I want them to leave thinking science is cool enough to go into.”

Arnold herself is an example of how STEM disciplines can help students reach their potential. She has already been accepted into the University of Utah’s School of Medicine, and plans to enroll once her responsibilities as Miss Utah – and hopefully Miss America – are fulfilled. She is not sure which area of medicine she would like to pursue, but her dream is to eventually become a personal physician for an NFL team.

Arnold departs for the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas on Jan. 2, 2013, and hopes to join Colleen Kay Hutchins and Sharlene Wells as the pageant’s only winners from Utah.

For more information and to schedule an interview, please contact Collin Barrett with the University of Utah College of Science at 801-587-8527 or email him at barrett@science.utah.edu.