Alumni Highlight: Nic Cool
We love taking the opportunity to highlight our alumni and hear about their experiences and accomplishments beyond Brook Hill. It’s especially rewarding to hear how Brook Hill has directly impacted their journey to reach their career goals and aspirations! Most recently we caught up with alumnus, Nicholas Cool ’13, who has his PhD in Chemistry and works for Intel! Let’s hear more about Nic’s journey at Brook Hill and how it’s effected his life and career thus far.
Nic, we got to see you grow and thrive at our Upper School! What originally brought you to the Brook Hill community?
“I came to Brook Hill because my brother, Zac Cool ’10 was at Brook Hill at the time and he had told me great things about his time there!”
Shout out to Zac! Describe your time at Brook Hill to us. What all were you involved in during your time here?
“I joined my freshman year and quickly became involved in the art department, as well as track and field where I threw discus and shot put. I went to state in both art and discus. I was a member of the cannon guard my junior and senior year, and captain of the cannon guard my senior year. I was also the Chaplain my senior year! My parents were boarding parents my junior year so we lived on campus for a year too! I graduated valedictorian of my class.”
Sounds like you did it all, and exceled! When you think back on your time at Brook Hill, what faculty member do you think had the biggest impact on you?
“Either Mr. Dement or Mr. Bunger. I was in Mr. Dement’s advisory class and spent a lot of time with him between advisory and the cannon guard. My time in Mr. Bunger’s class really peaked my interest in Chemistry which ultimately led to my current career path.”
Mr. Dement and Mr. Bunger are top-notch influences! It’s great to hear they had such an impact on you. Now let’s talk a little about life after Brook Hill! Where did you attend college? What were you involved in at your university?
“After graduating from Brook Hill I went to the University of Texas at Austin where I got my BS in Chemistry. I worked in Professor Rose’s lab as a student researcher and helped publish a paper entitled “Syntheses, Structures, and Characterization of Nickel(II) Stibines: Steric and Electronic Rationale for Metal Deposition”. I interned with L’Oreal in New Jersey in their reactives lab working on a post relaxer treatment for repairing disulfide bonds in chemically damaged hair. Outside of the academic world, I was a member of the water ski team all four years and actually ended up as Vice President of the team my senior year. I then went to Texas A&M for my PhD in Chemistry in Prof. Banerjee’s research group. I first authored 5 papers and contributed to 4 others (check out my Google Scholar!). I was a member of the Graduate Student Association of Chemistry where I served as the Social Chair. I was also a founding member of the Student Safety Committee and President, Vice-President, and Analytical Chemistry rep over the four years I was involved. I was a member of the Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemical Honor Society.”
WOW! You accomplished A LOT in your college years, that’s amazing! Even more amazing, we heard you got your PhD in Chemistry! How impressive! How do you think Brook Hill prepared you for these experiences and helped you be successful?
“At Brook Hill I developed a work ethic that helped me succeed in the academic setting. Undergraduate and graduate school are heavily dependent on your individual motivation and drive to succeed. While at BH the faculty members showed me how to take a personal role in my education. Rather than relying on teachers to guide you through your education, the university setting is almost completely self driven due to the larger class sizes. At BH the faculty members make an effort to encourage their students to take an active role in their learning, preparing the students for life outside of high school. In addition to the incredible faculty members at BH the dual credit and AP classes I took helped to lower my work load in college and allowed me to take time for extracurricular activities.”
“At BROOK HILL, the faculty members make an effort to encourage their students to take an active role in their learning, preparing the students for life outside of high school.” -NIC COOL ’13
That’s great, Nic! Now tell us what you are up to now! Can you tell us a little bit about your job at Intel?
“I am living in Hillsboro Oregon. I am a PTD Module & Integration Yield Engineer at Intel. I married my wife Susan in September of 2020 and we had our daughter Cora in August of 2022. I am currently working for Intel at their R&D hub in Oregon working in Logic Technology Development. As a PTD Module Engineer at Intel I am responsible for leading scientific research enabling manufacture of innovative device architectures coupled with the realization of these architectures. Designing, executing and analyzing experiments necessary to meet engineering specifications for their process. I am also responsible for overseeing in-situ ramp to manufacturing volumes to demonstrate that the technology meets requirements while simultaneously transferring the technology to counterparts in manufacturing.”
Sounds like you are thriving in your personal life and your career! Let’s look back again at your time here. What was the highlight for you being part of the Brook Hill family?
“I really felt like a member of a family while I was at Brook Hill. Brook Hill has a way of bringing students from a variety of backgrounds and interests together. Our class was very close and spent a lot of time just hanging out in the student lounges. I look back fondly on the conversations and relationships that were built during that time. Even though we weren’t on the same teams or in the same classes we always came together as a class and had a lot of fun.”
Love that! It sounds like you truly cherish your time at Brook Hill, and that makes us so happy! What are you most grateful for from your time here?
“I am most grateful for the opportunities that Brook Hill opened up for me and the spiritual and academic foundation it helped to develop. Without Brook Hill I would not have been able to get all of the scholarships that helped me attend top tier universities.”
“I am most grateful for the opportunities that Brook Hill opened up for me and the spiritual and academic foundation it helped to develop. Without Brook Hill, I would not have been able to get all of the scholarships that helped me attend top tier universities.” – NIC COOL ’13
Music to our ears!! In a grander sense, how did Brook Hill prepare you for your spiritual AND academic journey? How did Brook Hill prepare you for where you are right now?
“Going off to college on your own can be very overwhelming. Without the spiritual base that I developed at BH it would have been very easy to get lost at a big university. I went to UT with no friends or connections and although I was definitely overwhelmed my first year I was able to fall back on the spiritual foundation that I developed while at BH. I got involved in a church and really began to build a personal relationship with Christ.”
