“Kelvin Frazier” originally appeared in the 2016 edition of Arising, the Research Journal of Savannah State University.
Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.
Story by Amy Pine. Photography by Hon Low.
Kelvin Frazier, Ph.D., was a fixture on campus during his undergraduate days at Savannah State University, conducting research in labs alongside professors, playing trombone in the SSU marching band and serving as a founding member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. Today Frazier, who received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2015, makes it a priority to visit campus and share his experiences with current students.
“Dr. Frazier is the epitome of the phrase ‘Seriously Impressive’,” says SSU President Cheryl D. Dozier. “His successes both in and out of the classroom serve as a model for our students and alumni, demonstrating the value of hard work, determination and family support. He is also a stellar example of the importance of engaging students in research and grant-funded programs.”
Frazier, a Savannah native who graduated from Windsor Forest High School, was a participant in SSU’s National Science Foundation-funded Minority Access for Graduate Education and Careers in STEM Program (MAGEC-STEM), a grant program focused on increasing the number of minority students who successfully complete their undergraduate degrees and continue on to advanced degree programs.
Through MAGEC-STEM, Frazier engaged in research with his faculty mentor Cecil Jones, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemistry, analyzing ways to enhance the use of fluorescence in photodynamic therapy, a key component in some cancer treatments.
Through MAGEC-STEM, Frazier had the opportunity to present his research at numerous conferences around the country and engage in off-campus research at the University of Connecticut and at Procter & Gamble.
“My experiences helped me branch out my network and taught me basic skills I needed in order to succeed in graduate school,” says Frazier, who graduated magna cum laude from Savannah State in 2010 with a dual degree in chemistry and mathematics.
At his graduation ceremony, Frazier received one of the university’s highest honors, the President’s Second Mile Award, an award presented biannually to SSU students in recognition of stellar and meritorious achievement. He went on to matriculate at MIT in Boston, where he worked toward a Ph.D. in physical chemistry.
Frazier says that the research skills he acquired at Savannah State served him well during his five years at MIT, one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
“Getting in to graduate school, you have to have quality research, and my research advisor (at MIT) looked at my application and saw the research skills I had developed (at SSU), and that’s why he wanted me in his lab,” Frazier says.
Frazier’s abilities stood out at MIT. He received a Provost Presidential Fellowship, the highest fellowship honor for first-year graduate students, and the university’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award, an award in which recipients compete against the entire MIT community.
In addition to garnering accolades, Frazier became deeply involved in the campus community, serving as president of the Black Graduate Student Association and the Academy of Courageous Minority Engineers.
“Savannah State made me very grounded. Who I was at Savannah State is who I was at MIT,” Frazier says. “People really appreciated that. Some of the things I was doing at Savannah State, like trying to build a community if I felt there was a gap, I took with me to MIT.”
Today Frazier continues to live in the Boston area, working as a business and systems integration analyst for Accenture, a global consulting and professional services company. He hopes to one day start his own bio-medical firm or even open his own hospital.
