Read about Tyler Atkinson, a College of The Albemarle (COA) graduate, and his pursuit of a Chemical Engineering degree.

When Tyler Atkinson enrolled at COA in 2013, he was looking for new opportunities.

The Grandy resident had just graduated from high school and didn’t have much of a plan laid out for himself. “I didn’t have the grades I needed,” Atkinson said of his decision not to enroll in a four-year college right after high school. “So COA was my opportunity to make up for that.”

Atkinson optimized his two years at COA and took a variety of prerequisite classes, but it was chemistry that he quickly fell in love with. As soon as Atkinson took his first chemistry class at COA, he said, he knew he had found his future vocation.

Atkinson graduated from COA in 2014 with 43 college credits that he transferred to North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh, where he is currently enrolled in the Chemical Engineering program.

Bobby Adams, a 33-year chemistry instructor at COA, says acceptance into NCSU’s program is not easy.

“Chemical Engineering is one of the toughest engineering majors,” Adams said. But, he added, it’s not surprising that Atkinson was directly accepted into the school’s engineering program.

“What I found most fascinating about Tyler is his inherent understanding of science and how it works,” Adams said. “He is really fascinated by the subject matter and he had made the classes far more enriching because of his questions.” Adams said Atkinson was always asking questions based on what they had covered in class. He would wonder about things and do independent research on his own questions. For example, he asked Adams about glass and why it was clear and how photons could go through the glass without being absorbed.

“Learning is something I think is worthwhile on its own,” Atkinson said, “even if it’s not something you’re going to be applying.”

“Once I got here to COA, I fell in love with chemistry,” he added. “Everything around us works in chemistry.”

Atkinson began at NCSU as a sophomore since nearly all of his COA credits transferred. He plans on earning his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and eventually hopes to earn a master’s degree in the field as well. At some point, he also wants to earn his associate degree in sustainable energy.

Eventually, Atkinson said, he hopes to find a job that will allow him to help the environment.

“I feel like science tackles the problems that are rising,” Atkinson said. “Sustainable energy is one of the problems that is very concerning to my generation. I’d like to take part in finding solutions.”