Former Owls often find their way back to Temple’s campus, sometimes in ways they don’t expect. 

Temple alum, Chandra Graham, CST ‘95, is now the Environmental Engineering Pathway Coordinator at Philadelphia’s Abraham Lincoln High School. She and her colleague Jason D’Ambrosia (also a Temple alum) brought a group of their students to the College of Engineering for a visit in April. 

Lincoln High students participated in a demonstration led by Dr. Eve Walters. The focus was water contamination and the purification process. 

As a former geology major, Graham appreciates the scientific concepts students can learn from nature and the potential these concepts have for improving our world. 

Graham began her career in lab work and quickly shifted into the education field. The impact she has on a student’s education journey is what she values most in her profession. 

Exposing her students to institutions of higher learning is part of that educational path for Graham. 

“A university visit can expand upon what students are currently learning within a setting where they [students] may eventually be,” she stated. 

By participating in the demonstration with Dr. Walters, an experiment she also runs with her college freshmen, students can see exactly what they’d be doing at a college-level and how it relates to their current studies. 

Transitioning from high school to college can be daunting, but Graham makes sure that students see what college is like from both an academic and personal level. The field trip serves not just as an educational opportunity for science, but an exercise in 

college-readiness. 

“I want them to know that they can confidently travel to, and navigate within, a college campus even before they show up,” explains Graham. She points out the SEPTA stations, what roads they take to get there, and even coffee shops- anything that centers students and provides them with a perspective of what life could look like on a college campus. This eases the transition from high school into adult learning. 

Graham credits Temple with giving her a positive worldview and an easily accessible education. She wants the same opportunities for her students. “It’s [Temple] 20 minutes away...you can get here in 20 minutes and experience everything you need to achieve a successful career.” 

If you’re interested in bringing your student group in for a visit to the College of Engineering, contact the Office of Enrollment Management at [click-for-email].