As an undergraduate biology major at Howard University, Dr. Thomas Hardy was afraid of professors; it wasn’t until he had the opportunity to work closely with one on a project that the barrier came down.
“When I got a chance to know him on a more personal level and see what his day-to-day activities involved and the real impact that he was able to have on students’ lives, I would say, that is the point in my sophomore year where I decided that was the career path that I would like to pursue,” says Hardy, now 31 and an assistant professor in the Natural Sciences Department at Virginia Union University.
During his undergraduate years, Hardy took part in the Washington Baltimore Hampton Roads — Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation initiative, which helped prepare him to become a Bridge in the Doctoral Fellowship Program.
“He is an ideal scientist in that he demonstrates initiative, utilizes innovative methods and uses his imagination to advance to the next stage,” says Dr. Clarence Lee, the director of the Center for Preprofessional Education at Howard, who served on his dissertation committee. “As a result of our weekly meetings, Dr. Hardy and I formed a tight bond.”
From discussing academia to various aspects of life, Hardy says, Lee and another mentor at Howard, the now retired Dr. Raymond Peterson, truly shepherded him along in his career.
“Those two individuals have had an enormous impact on my life, and they have just helped guide me and helped me to make good decisions,” he says.
This is just one reason he likes to be so engaged with his students. Working at a primarily teaching institution, Hardy focuses on his students, but adds an undergraduate research component to his work. For example, he is now managing a project with a student on environmental and atmospheric catalysts for breathing problems in collaboration with the Richmond Ambulance Authority and restoring the campus greenhouse with a group of undergrads. Dominion Virginia Power has given Hardy $40,000 for the greenhouse project, which he hopes to have completed by the summer of 2013.
