Finishing high school at the height of COVID-era precautions meant Carmen Rhinehalt didn’t get a chance to celebrate with a traditional graduation ceremony.
She’ll make up for that this weekend, when she walks for the second time at The University of Toledo.
CELEBRATING SUCCESS: UToledo recognizes the Class of 2024 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at fall commencement.
Rhinehalt, a double major in chemistry and cosmetic science and formulation design, participated in UToledo’s spring commencement earlier this year after wrapping up her chemistry work. She’ll walk again on Saturday to mark the completion of her cosmetic science degree.
A native of northeast Ohio, Rhinehalt chose The University of Toledo in large part because of the efforts of a chemistry faculty member to make a personal connection with her as she narrowed down her choices in a higher education environment that had been thrown into upheaval.
“Because of COVID, I had to choose a college online,” she said. “I had toured Toledo, but I wanted to come back here and to a few other universities to make my final decision. All those tours got cancelled. Toledo was the only school where I Skyped with a professor in the chemistry department. She showed me around the instrumentation lab and talked about all the opportunities I would have as a student at UToledo. That’s why I came here.”
As a freshman in the fall of 2020, Rhinehalt was exclusively focused on chemistry. A chance decision to take an introductory course in cosmetic science as a sophomore opened her eyes to new possibilities — and helped her focus toward a specific industry.
“I’ve always loved science, but I don’t think I really knew what I wanted to do with the chemistry degree when I started,” she said. “When I found the cosmetic science program, that’s when I finally knew. I didn’t want to give up chemistry because I knew I could apply both areas to my future career, so I decided to do both. It probably would have been a lot easier to choose one, and I would have graduated in four years, but I don’t have any regrets.”
Rhinehalt credited two faculty members in particular for their mentorship and help ensuring she was successful in both programs — Dr. Gabriella Baki from the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dr. Michael Young from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Rhinehalt spent two years doing research alongside Young, an associate professor of chemistry, while Baki, director of the undergraduate Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design Program and an associate professor of pharmacy practice, helped her see the potential of cosmetic science and encouraged her to pursue a double major.
“Double majoring in chemistry and cosmetic science allowed Carmen to deepen her technical knowledge in both personal care product chemistry and product formulation with the bonus of approaching ingredient structure and function from a slightly different angle,” Baki said.
Having that dual chemistry and cosmetic science background helped Rhinehalt land a summer internship with Cargill Inc., the largest privately held company in the United States.
A double major in chemistry and cosmetic science and formulation design, Carmen Rhinehalt participated in UToledo’s spring commencement earlier this year after wrapping up her chemistry work. She’ll walk again on Saturday to mark the completion of her cosmetic science degree.
Cargill is well known for its agribusiness endeavors, but the Minneapolis-based company also has a small personal wellness division. As a beauty research and development intern, Rhinehalt got to do hands-on work formulating mascara while also interfacing with key executives.
“It was interesting because I got a lot of experience in the industry, but I also learned how businesses work — especially really, really big businesses,” she said. “And cosmetics is such a niche part of Cargill that even though I was at a big company, the cosmetics team was small, so I had a lot of unique opportunities. High-level Cargill executives also came to see our internship presentations, which was a very exciting experience.”
Rhinehalt said part of what attracted her to the cosmetic science program was the breadth of career opportunities the degree prepared her for. Whereas chemistry is focused on hard science, the cosmetic science program touches on marketing, sales and industry regulation in addition to the hands-on formulation work students do.
“With a base knowledge in color theory and understanding how to create aesthetically appealing products, she is well-skilled to overcome a variety of challenges at the bench,” Baki said. “And the business courses she has taken allow her to communicate technical issues and potential solutions to the business units within companies.”
Though Rhinehalt is focused on finding an opportunity where she can work in ingredient synthesis, she liked the additional career paths available should she one day choose to step away from the lab.
“Having to decide where to go to college when I couldn’t see them again felt like one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. And I know now I made the right one,” she said. “I was as involved as I could be with a sorority and research and two majors. I have thrown myself into The University of Toledo and it’s given me many opportunities in return.”
