Justin Skaggs

As a first-generation college student, Justin is the son of an enlisted career military father and his high-school educated mother who moved the family around the world with the military. It wasn’t until high school in Chula Vista that the now Revelle College and Chemical Engineering student took his first chemistry class in tenth grade. “I was puzzled by the idea that everything on the planet was made up of the same thing.”

Following a year at community college, which reduced the cost of an education, Justin was accepted into the chemical engineering program at UC San Diego. His strong work ethic and momentum stayed with him, and he was determined to study hard, not just to get good grades, he said, “but to understand more than I ever thought I could.” He taught himself how to strive for more. “In order to work for something meaningful, I had to step outside of my comfort zone and search for and create opportunities.” He reached out to a professor, asking if he could research in his lab. “I have set my mind on the idea of working in the energy production field; being accepted into a lab working on solar panels was a dream come true.” As the only undergraduate in the lab, Justin felt a pressure to perform and keep the pace of the other graduate students in the lab. After months of hard work, he was given his own personal project. He is now known across the research group, helps train incoming undergraduates and masters students, and has earned a part in experimental design and procedure.

According to Justin, with the right perspective, everything in the world is interesting. He enjoys making music, coding, and wants to begin some AI machine learning projects. When he was president of UC San Diego’s American Chemical Society Club, Justin had the opportunity to perform chemical experiments on stage for an outreach event during National Chemistry Week. “Interacting with lots of kids and seeing the joy and potential in them was very inspiring,” he said.

Justin’s dream is to attain a PhD and ultimately find a career in the renewable energy production and storage industry. “Our world is constantly expanding and the energy needs of people around the earth will only skyrocket; renewable energy is a major approach to preserve our planet and its resources…I am fascinated with the concept of recycling the natural resources we find on earth, in order to recycle the energy that’s produced by our sun, which is just a collection recycled particles from an earlier stellar catastrophe…I truly believe I can make a difference in the world, and this field and the opportunities I receive, are what will push me forward to accomplish more than I did the day before.”