Ashley Buchanan

I attribute my success to a combination of mentorship, education, and hands-on experience. I was fortunate to have an organic chemistry professor who became a lasting mentor, guiding me through challenges and encouraging growth. My biochemistry degree provided a strong foundation and opened doors to diverse opportunities, while on-the-job training allowed me to apply that knowledge in real-world settings. I’ve also learned the value of listening to experienced colleagues and approaching problems with creativity and thoughtful problem-solving.

The best career advice I've received has come from my organic chemistry professor from college, who is now my coworker and has been the most amazing mentor and friend. Through vulnerability and honesty on my part and support on his part, he helped me navigate the transition from an entry-level to mid-level role, where you grow to stop simply following instruction and start directing and solving things yourself. He guided me through everything from the little things, like how should I type up this email, to bigger questions like how should I present this data, how should I structure this experiment, does this make sense, is my thought process for how to go about this correct, am I missing something, am I prioritizing correctly. He's done the job for a long time, so he knows how things go, and his advice and guidance has been invaluable. To top it off, when things are hard in my work world he is always willing to help.

My advice would be to stay open to a variety of opportunities - even those that feel like a stretch. While it may feel overwhelming when starting something new or when things go wrong, solving problems and getting through the challenges is so powerful and rewarding. Rely on the people who have been in the industry or at the company for a long time, regardless of level. Listen to the people who are there 24-7, hands on with the day to day details. You will learn so much from them that is a perfect complement to other training and education.

It can be difficult to find a job these days in chemical industries, especially the biotech industry. I hear about layoffs and plant closures and that's really tough. Nobody wants to lose their job, no one wants to see anyone else lose their job, and the added fear of knowing if you were to lose your job it might be difficult to find another one is just another layer on top. It's mentally challenging to manage so much uncertainty.

When it comes to sustainabilty goals, I believe with creativity and openness there are opportunities to find cost effective yet still sustainable solutions.

In my work life, expanding my professional network is a big focus right now. When I went to the Women in Chemicals conference last year, I really realized that's a big growth area for me, and so I've been working on that, putting myself out there more, forming contacts, helping other people out when I can, and being able to have a network to lean on if I need help one day. I also value having third-party credibility and getting visibility that will help me expand my network. If someone sees my feature and resonates with it and wants to reach out, I would love to be a sounding board for other people and help them figure out what they might want to try in their career. My company has given me a lot of opportunities, and I certainly don't want to discredit that, especially with one of my longest-term mentors being my coworker. That's one of my favorite things about working at Ingevity. In my personal life, I really like doing home projects. Being able to both make improvements and troubleshoot isues then fix them myself is super satisfying. I love organizing and decorating, so my home projects tend go along with all of that too. I like puzzles, and I have cats, so I enjoy relaxing with them, trying to live the dream with a cat nap alongside them every now and then.