Shumaker’s love of science stems from Dental Assistant program

NWTC alumna Savanah Shumaker is an analytical chemist, specializing in nuclear magnetic spectroscopy at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. She is also the co-founder and co-owner of a new cosmetics company, Nazte Beauty, LLC.  

What sparked Shumaker’s love of science and paved her career path: her experience as a student in the NWTC Dental Assistant program.  

After graduating from NWTC 10 years ago, Shumaker’s passion to help people using science pushed her to continue her education. She returned to NWTC to take general studies courses before transferring to UW-Green Bay to complete a bachelor’s degree in human biology with a minor in chemistry.   

Shumaker has worked in medicinal chemistry and has presented her research findings at many academic conferences throughout the country. She has a master’s degree in product development with a concentration in chemical product development.   

Shumaker credits her professionalism to the Dental Assistant program and her NWTC instructor. “Carol Johnson was hugely influential in pushing me to achieve and realize my academic potential,” she said. “The DA program also set the bar very high for professionalism in the workplace, which still applies to my life today.” 

While at NWTC, Shumaker served as both president and vice president of the North American Hispanic Student Association.