Emma Groetecke (she/her) is a second-year PhD student in Chemistry working in the Wencewicz laboratory, where she studies the influence of natural product analogs on bacterial nutrient acquisition, with a focus on the total synthesis of novel antibiotic scaffolds. Emma completed her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Kentucky in 2024, where she was a Presidential Scholar and Honors Student who focused on the design and synthesis of gold-based antineoplastic agents. Emma received multiple departmental awards during her undergraduate studies, recognizing her research and teaching efforts. She hopes to continue developing her science communication skills in graduate school through her work as an Assistant in Instruction for Organic Chemistry.