NICOLE COBB
CHEMISTRY TEACHER
Archbishop Mitty High School
San Jose, California

Nicole Cobb was born into a large, close-knit Texas family that deeply values education.  Her maternal grandmother, who dropped out of school at a young age and earned a GED much later in life, served as an inspiration. “Her work ethic showed me what it means to give your whole heart to everything that you do.”

Nicole graduated from the Loretto Academy High School in El Paso, Texas, and moved across the country to attend Harvard University.  “I was fortunate to have an amazing professor who helped me discover a passion for chemistry, which led me to spend two summers conducting research in a lab.” Upon graduating with a BS in chemistry, Nicole moved to the West Coast to obtain a master’s degree in biochemistry while continuing to conduct research in a virology lab.  

In graduate school, Nicole volunteered in a science classroom in East Palo Alto, California, where she found her calling. “I felt immediately at home in the classroom surrounded by students and sharing my passion for science.”  The recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Pfizer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Synthetic Chemistry among others, Nicole has presented graduate research at the annual American Society of Virology conference.