1. Name
Roxane Jourdain
2. Where is your hometown?
I was born in London UK, but grew up between the UK and Megeve, in the French Alps. I consider the latter my hometown
3. What is your profession/career/title/self-label/designation? What does your average day look like?
I am a lecturer! I teach Organic Chemistry at a university in Texas.
My main job is overseeing the organic chemistry lab, which accommodates up to 425 students each semester. These students are not chemistry majors; rather, they often find the subject uninteresting and only seek to pass to meet medical school requirements. I have a dual role: I set up the lab’s content, write the experiments, and oversee and train the graduate student Teaching Assistant (TA) team; and I will have two large lectures (~200 students each) during which I will give students the background of their next experiment. I want to change their view of the subject: at the beginning of the semester, students mostly feel negatively about it. OChem is full of jargon, weird drawings, and students don’t feel connected to it. But little do they know, this is the chemistry of life! All the biological processes happening in our body have a root in organic chemistry. Drug discovery, medicine, and environmental science all overlap with this subject. I want to help them see these links and appreciate the beauty of this area of science
4. What did you study in school?
I graduated French high school with a science Baccalaureat with a specialization in physics and chemistry. I then earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Imperial College in London, UK. After that, I did a Master's of Research in Drug Discovery and Development, also at Imperial. I moved to the US to do a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
5. What was the journey like to get where you are (in life and career-wise)? Write about some of the achievements that you are most proud of. What was the moment for you that changed your life (in your personal life and/or career?) that set you on the current path in life?
Oh my journey way FAAAAAAAAAAR from straightforward. I started undergrad with a lot of health issues, mental and physical. I barely scraped by my first-year exams, even though I LOVED working in lab. In my second year, I failed 5 out of 6 of my Chemistry semester exams. I was very, very close to failing out of the program. My friends were also retaking some of their exams, and I remember one of them telling me “There is no way you’re not joining us in third year, Roxane.” We worked like hell, and I passed all 5 exams. By that point, my head was barely out of the water.
I did much better in my third year and caught the attention of a few researchers thanks to my labwork and writing assignments. One of them, Professor Ed Tate, told me about the new master’s program in medicinal chemistry he was supervising and that I should apply. I interviewed and got an offer. It required a B on my degree (2.1 in UK grades). I tried hard to overcome my first two years, but in the end only achieved a C (2.2). When I got the news, I felt devastated, like my dream was shattered. Then another professor I had chatted with came to give me some support. He told me to “go talk to Ed” and that he was sure everything would be fine.
I walked up to the professor’s office, and gave him the news. He looked at me with a smile on his face and said “We gave you an offer, we’re not going to take it back. It’s just extra paperwork.” That day set my trajectory to where I am today.
I earned a merit on my master’s degree working on prostate cancer research, and then got a 6 mo internship at Novartis in Basel, Switzerland. I then decided to look for a PhD. I chose to look at US universities, not knowing that a PhD there is very different from the UK. Thanks to some help from a USAF pilot I met in Japan (long story!), I got an offer to come study at a university in Texas that had interesting research in organic chemistry.
PhD life was tough. Organic Chemistry is not an easy field for a foreign, neurodivergent woman. When I was 27, I was diagnosed with ASD. COVID hit research like a freight train and I had to scrap a lot of the reactions I had developed because the reagents were no longer available. Nevertheless, I held on and defended my thesis in 2021.
I started looking for jobs and went to my department chair, who is also an organic chemist and one of my mentors, for a reference letter. Upon seeing that I was applying for a teaching job, he asked whether I was considering a career in teaching. I responded yes, and he asked if I wanted a job here; if so, he’d hire me on the spot. And that’s how I’ve now been teaching here for 4 years!
Really, I am here because a few professors believed in what I could do and pushed me towards it. Now I want to pay it forward with my students.
6. How is your life different from what you pictured at 20?
I don’t think 20-year-old me could foresee the path my life has taken. My early 20s were not an easy time. Getting diagnosed with ASD and working on overcoming PTSD allowed me to grow into the person I am now. 20-year-old me probably wouldn’t recognize herself.
7. Was there a time when life knocked you down or out and how did you get back up on your feet?
Many times. A few things have helped me: realizing that my worth is inherent was the biggest factor. Letting myself grow and giving myself the space to blossom was also a big factor.
8. Advice for other women?
Don’t let the bastards drag you down. The people who care about BS don’t matter, and the people who matter don’t care about it.
9. Knowing what we know now in a current political climate, can women be "all that we can be" in today's world? What is the way forward, as you see it, for "feminist values"?
Especially today, recognizing the worth that underrepresented individuals bring to the table is especially important. I always try to approach a conversation with my students with compassion and understanding. My office is a safe space where my students or my “little sisters” from my former research lab can find a caring ear and a shoulder to cry on whenever they need. I have also published work and submitted a patent to improve accessibility for students with disabilities in Organic Chemistry labs. By opening those doors, I hope to help students feel that they belong in science.
10. Where in the world do you feel “tallest” (i.e. where is your happy place)?
My happy place is in a chemistry lab running reactions. You’ll find me singing to music while I prep my chemicals and glassware. Labwork is like a drug to me! I love figuring out what my reactions did and why. This is something I deeply miss in my teaching role, but I hope to have opportunities to go back into it in the near future.
11. What extracurricular activities/hobbies are you most proud of? Why?
I own 3 dogs who are all competing in dog sports! 12-year-old rescue mutt Auriga is a master of Rally Obedience and a trick dog champion. She is the first dog I’ve ever owned and trust me, there’s no slowing her down. 5-year-old smooth collie Tini is my couch princess who loves to herd sheep and be sassy. She is a grand champion show dog and has titles in sheep herding, obedience, and scent detection. Her son Mael (2 yo), also a champion show dog, looks just like her and is just starting his competition career! This dog is brilliant, and I am very excited to see what we do together.
12. What do you want to be when you grow up? Future goals/challenges?
Young me wanted to be an astronaut or a vet! Right now, I am looking at possibly becoming a professor at an undergraduate institution. This would allow me to teach and do lab research.
13. What fears are you still hoping to overcome?
I still have massive impostor syndrome. It scares me to put myself out there for people to see. Which is ironic because I can easily give a lecture to 220 people without blinking an eye. It’s still hard for me to believe in my inherent worth and “give things a go.” Change is scary. Again, ironic from the person who left Europe and family to live alone in Texas!
14. Anything you'd do differently, if you had another go at life?
We have a saying in French: with “ifs”, you could put Paris in a bottle. My journey has led me on this path, and I feel I wouldn’t change it even if there were hardships along the way.
15. What/who inspires you?
Mostly my students and my colleagues. I love to chat with my students, learn what they are passionate about and nurture their passion. I love chatting with my colleagues and learning how to be a better teacher from them. I also get to still be in contact with the research at my university and attend talks from visiting researchers.
16. What are you hopeful about?
I’m hopeful for what the future holds for me.
17. What are some ingredients to a good life? How did the global pandemic and the war in Ukraine change your perspective about the world, about your life, your goals and dreams?
The whole world right now is kind of scary: war, threat of deportation, anti-immigrant sentiments. I try to find people who will appreciate me for who I am. Especially living in the American South, I am acutely aware that, compared to many other foreigners, I am privileged as I easily pass as American.
18. What are (at least) three qualities you most love about yourself and why? What are your superpowers?
Empathy (thanks ASD)
I can see chemical structures in 3D in my head. It’s always been this way, and I think it’s why I’ve always been drawn to Organic Chemistry and natural product synthesis in general. Nature makes such beautiful molecules!
19. What advice would you give your 14-year-old self? What advice would your 14-year-old self give you in return?
Me now to 14-yo me: Hang in there, it gets better. Don’t blame yourself. You are enough. Don’t try to be what others want you to be. Embrace who you are, weird brain and all.
14 yo me to me now: Go try things, don’t be scared.
20. What are you reading now? (what books do you gift most and what are your favourite reads?)
What the best college teachers do by Ken Bain.
I’m also an avid reader of Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I would always recommend Robin Hobb’s books starting with Assassin’s Apprentice.
21. Who is a WOW WOMAN in your world who inspires you and why? Can you nominate three (or more) women you know who perfectly fit WOW WOMAN description? What would you tell them, if you had an opportunity, about why you admire them?
Not too sure.
22. Where can others find you/your work (links to websites, blogs, etc.)?
My dogs have their Instagram: @seraccollies
Bonus Quick Round Qs:
1. What and who is worth suffering for?
Freedom to be yourself without shame. Helping others achieve their purpose.
2. What would you do if you knew that nobody would judge you?
Talk about the beauty of OChem nonstop - wait I already do that!
3. Who is/are your mentor/s (men or women)?
My teachers and colleagues.
4. If you didn't have to work anymore what would you do with your days?
I’d do some cool chemistry!
5. If you could be anyone for a day who would you be?
Just me, I’m happy as me.
6. If you could relive one year in your life, which one would it be?
I don’t know. Life is on an upwards trend these days, so I don’t really want to look back
What bothers you most about other people? What do you love most about other people?
Hypocrisy infuriates me. I can’t stand two-faced people
I love seeing people talk about their passions and goals.