Montgomery County Community College recent graduate Joshua Jang at Commencement. The Mathematics (A.A.) major will attend a research study at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this summer. Photo by Linda Johnson
As a United States Navy veteran, Joshua Jang,’26, is no stranger to the sea. During his military career he explored the Pacific, venturing to exotic places like Guam, Singapore, Thailand and was stationed in Hawaii. Now, this summer, the 25-year-old Montgomery County Community College Mathematics (A.A.) graduate will set sail on a new adventure, this time as part of an advanced maritime research program for community college students.
Jang will travel north to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Advanced Disciplinary Materials for Maritime Research for Maritime Application Program summer program. MCCC Engineering Science (Electrical, A.S.) major Rachel Myhre will also attend the program.
The paid, 10-week experience runs from May 31 to Aug. 8. It offers 10 community college students, who plan to pursue an industry career or transfer to a four-year institution, the chance to be involved in independent and state-of-the-art research in advanced materials related to the region’s marine economy, according to its website.
Jang, who lives in Ambler, said he’s excited about the opportunity.
“The research project I was selected to work on is a chemistry research project,” he said. “I’m working under a chemistry professor at UMass. It’s about materials, their color and how they change within different environments.”
He credits his time at the College for shaping his path to the prestigious opportunity.
Mustang spirit
After honorably separating from the Navy in 2024 as an E5- petty officer second class, Jang enrolled at the College in the fall of 2024. He’d briefly lived in Georgia but said he wanted to move back to Pennsylvania.
“I feel at home here,” he said. “I felt welcomed in the state. My sister lives here and Montco was 10 minutes away. Before I enrolled, I walked on the Blue Bell Campus and thought it was beautiful.”
Returning to civilian life after three years in the military took time to adjust, said Jang.
“It’s very common for veterans to leave the military and feel like you’ve joined a different world,” he said. “There’s less structure and the culture is different.”
Soon though, he began to find his footing and his experience as a student dramatically
improved. First, he landed a job with IT Support Services in the summer of 2025 as a student worker, where he took calls and assisted students
and employees with their technical issues.
Then he began working with Christopher Weaver, Manager of Veterans Services, and the Veterans Resource Center, which provides assistance with VA Educational Benefits and Certification, VA work-study opportunities, priority course registration, student veteran organization meetings, on-site academic coaching, online tutoring, community collaboration and networking events and more. Jang used it for help with GI Bill benefits.
In the fall of 2025, he joined the student-led STEM Club, where students can connect, share ideas, and learn from each other. Through his involvement, Jang learned about the UMass summer program from Math Assistant Professor and STEM Club advisor Scott Vaughen.
Jang also became a peer tutor in Computer Science and Physics, helping fellow students in these challenging courses.
Additionally, Jang served as a team member in the Automation and Innovation Challenge, presented by Merck & Co. The event tested the skills of STEM students from across different disciplines, by having them combine their knowledge of robotics and computer programming together to complete a task.
“It was very engaging,” he said. “It reinforced for me that hardware is always the hardest part. For the STEM Club, the hardest part of a project we’re doing is always the hardware. Coding with AI is easy. With hardware, a person has to look and see what’s wrong. It was fun.”
Lastly, Jang studied the cosmos through the Observational and Radio Astronomy independent
study with Physics Associate Professor Kelli Corrado building horn radio telescopes, or small instruments designed to detect strong astronomical and terrestrial radio
signals. Jang also assisted with the community Observatory nights on the Blue Bell Campus.
After switching to a math major from Computer Science and filling out the general College scholarship application, Jang was delighted to be awarded the Walter R. Hunter Math Scholarship.
“Professor Vaughen inspired me to become a math major,” he said, “and I am so thankful of Montco for this scholarship, as it relieves some of the financial burden that comes from being a commuter student.”
Setting a new course
Jang will take all he’s learned at MCCC with him to the summer program at UMass Dartmouth. According to the website, students will study “innovative materials and their broader use are vital to improve the structural reliability and life cycle performance of ships and maritime structures, to lower their environmental footprint, to make the industry more viable at a global scale and thus to generate and sustain employment.”
The program includes room and board and integrates Bioengineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering faculty who will mentor students throughout the experience.
Students will also participate in weekly research seminars, research meetings, and professional development seminars, with topics including literature review, writing a scientific paper, improving research communication skills, technical presentations, career paths and ethics in science and engineering, the website states.
Jang is eager to participate in the project because he said he knows very little about chemistry and is looking forward to branching out into different STEM-based areas.
“In this century, and with AI and the internet, I think it’s really important for interdisciplinary work,” he said. “I strongly believe that it’s not enough to be an expert in one field anymore because AI is like an expert in every field. So, I think it’s really important for humans to connect. You need to be well-rounded.”
As he gears up for the experience, he’s also already planning his next adventure. He’s currently hoping for acceptance letters from several four-year institutions to continue his studies. He’s looking to incorporate math into his career some day in a field such as data science or applied math.
In the days leading to Commencement, Jang took a moment to reflect on his time at the College and said he’s leaving with fond memories.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I was surprised by the wide range of ages of students here. I didn’t have a traditional path. I could learn from their perspectives. I could learn from an 18–19-year-old student, who had a traditional path and from older students who had a non-traditional path. I think I had something of value to bring to them too. It’s just sharing. Everyone had a wide variety of experiences, and working alongside them was kind of like being back in the military. Everyone brought something interesting and new perspectives to the table.”