“My wife Cassidy and I met in gen chem. I was her TA. For part of our first date I took her to the ACS lab and showed her some demos.

I proposed on Feb. 15, 2015. I asked U police if I could get on the roof of the chemistry building to propose. I used some “gun cotton” which is nitrated cotton that burns really quickly. I told Cassidy I’d been given access to the roof of HEB. She went up to the roof with me and I had her light pieces of gun cotton.  I had to keep giving her gun cotton because I couldn’t see where the ring box was. I found it, pulled it out and proposed. She said yes!

Cassidy is now in Pharmacy school and I’ll be teaching chemistry at Springville High, my old high school. There’s so much I’ve learned that I’ll take with me. One thing is the idea of trying to understand each individual student and what they’re going through.

It’s because of coming to the U and the people here that I’m able to graduate and have a job and the relationship I have with my wife. I owe a lot to this school.”

— Carter Jennings, chemistry major