Judy Amburgey-Peters Dedicates Herself to
Nurturing and Challenging Students

Judy Amburgey-Peters knows that she can’t be all things to all people, but that hasn’t stopped her from trying. An associate professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster, Amburgey-Peters is dedicated to nurturing and challenging her most gifted students while spending just as much time, if not more, working with those who need extra attention. “My end game is to help students learn,” she says. “I am committed to doing whatever I can to make that happen. ”

Now in her 11th year at Wooster, Amburgey-Peters describes herself as a “non-traditional blue-collar academic.” Although both parents attended college, only her mother completed the requirements for a degree. Her father had more of a labor background. “My family gave me a strong work ethic,” she says. “I’ve always carried that with me.”

Amburgey-Peters traces her interest in science to an innate curiosity that surfaced when she was very young. “I was always asking why and how,” she says. “I still do that today.” She also remembers being influenced by a set of Tinker Toys, which she points out are not too far removed from the way organic molecules are illustrated in science textbooks.

In high school, she encountered an enthusiastic chemistry teacher who “made you wonder about things.” She also took a home economics class that spawned an interest in cooking. Unfortunately, her school was forced to spend more money on discipline than education, so Amburgey-Peters was not really challenged, and was able to cruise through without really pushing herself.

After graduating as the class valedictorian, Amburgey-Peters enrolled at Georgetown College where the professors had a presence that she would go on to emulate. “They were so supportive,” she says. “You didn’t feel like you had to get an ‘A’ to get their attention.”

Based on her experience at Georgetown, Amburgey-Peters became inspired to pursue a Ph.D. and become a college professor. “My advisor, Dr. Blackburn, was remarkable,” she says. “He built me up, gave me self-confidence, and convinced me that I could do a lot of things — and excited me about chemistry.”

Amburgey-Peters parlayed that confidence into a successful bid to enter the doctoral program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — the final step to a lifelong dream. It was there that she learned something very important about herself. “I realized that although I loved the science, what I found most rewarding was helping others and seeing them learn,” she says. She also discovered the value of having the freedom to go in the directions that interested her most.

Both of those lessons would serve as the cornerstone for her approach to teaching at Wooster. “I probably spend most of my time and energy helping students find out what they really want to do,” she says. “It’s especially gratifying when students take ownership of their I.S. (Wooster’s nationally renowned Independent Study program) and it truly becomes theirs.”

Occasionally, Amburgey-Peters will actually encourage students not to study science, but rather pursue their true passions. “I think it’s important to let students know that it is okay to do something else,” she says, “even if it means changing majors.”

One student who made that decision on his own was Nick Weida. He chose to double major in economics and history but still serves as an organic chemistry lab assistant, and plans to attend medical school. “Professor Amburgey-Peters demands that her students become willing to challenge themselves intellectually, beyond where they naturally feel comfortable,” says Weida. “For a student just beginning what is rumored to be one of the most difficult classes in college (organic chemistry) that can be more than a little intimidating. But soon the realization hit that her high standards were grounded in her utmost dedication to my success and that through this dedication my knowledge base and ability to think critically were vastly improving.”

Since coming to Wooster in 1996, Amburgey-Peters has worked tirelessly to support her students, who she says frequently need a lesson in organization and time management. “Oftentimes, it’s not the science, but the lack of focus and planning that causes problems for students,” she says. “It’s up to me to point out to them that what they’re doing is not working and to help them identify what they need to do to be successful. Preparation is so important in life, especially the sciences. As my valued mentor (professor of physics) Don Jacobs has told me, science is 90 percent getting ready to do it and 10 percent doing it.’”

“Dr. Amburgey-Peter’s enthusiasm for chemistry and commitment to her students were most evident when I did my Independent Study,” says Jen Sorrells, and 2002 Wooster graduate and now a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in organic chemistry at Emory University. “She selflessly gave up her personal time — including evenings and Saturday mornings —to save us from flooding and other unforeseen laboratory disasters. Undoubtedly, it is her dedication and contagious passion that makes her not only a phenomenal teacher but an excellent mentor as well.”