What is the purpose of the Chem Club? 

The Chemistry Club has two parts, the Chem and STEM club. It is for all science students, whether they are planning a career in engineering, math, or chemistry.  

One purpose it to use it as a way to explore careers. For example, the club invites speakers in and just had a recruiter from a pharmacy school visit. An alumni who works at a factory is going to talk about her job as an engineer. The club helps students explore potential careers or learn more about the career they want to pursue.  

The club is also about community outreach and sharing the love of science to the public through its big event Sci-Fest.  

Overall, the club is about career exploration and socializing with like-minded students who also are pursuing science degrees.  

Why should students join the Chemistry/STEM Club? 

Students get a lot of opportunities that they might not get otherwise and exposure to different scientific careers.  

Also, the networking with the local industries that hire engineers, chemists and scientists is so that they get to meet with a network in with the local area businesses.  

There’s just a lot of opportunities for our students to engage in the activities that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to in the upcoming future. 

What is a favorite activity for students who are part of the club? 

Every April, the club has its Annual Sci-Fest Science Festival.  

It’s always a big hit. Each year, students are challenged to build a new experiment for the festival.  

This year, the club worked on building a giant bubble wall. The students are enjoying finding new demos, researching them, building them and then testing them because a lot of times it doesn’t work on the first try.  

It’s just good experience troubleshooting, building a fun project that they’re going to turn around and watch hundreds of community members enjoy at the festival.  

Do students in the club have the chance to attend state or national conventions? 

Six students just returned from the American Chemical Society national meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. They presented a poster about our club’s activities. There were literally thousands of people in attendance. They met with industry vendors. They got to go listen to academic talks.  

The club was given the highest award for clubs by the American Chemical Society. ACS gives  the outstanding award to about 3% of the clubs in the country. 

It was a really great experience for our officer teams to be able to go and attend that conference and see experience how professional scientists communicate and interact with them at the national level.  

Are there other club activities? 

The club goes to area businesses, the chemical industries. For example, the Hegeler-Carus Mansion every fall has their community outreach and we participate with them.  

We have also taken tours of the Argonne National Lab and last year toured the Fermi National Lab. In the Chicago area, there are two national laboratories, the Argonne National Lab and the Fermi National Lab.  

That is also important. 

How do students join the club? 

Our students come through if they are taking either a chemistry course or one of their friends is taking one of the chemistry courses, physics, biology, any of the sciences.  

Much recruiting happens through the science course because if students have an interest in science, math, engineering, faculty will see them in classes.  

Why do you enjoy advising the club? 

It’s just very satisfying for me to help students learn about opportunities, to see them pursue advanced degrees that when they came in, they didn’t know anything about.  

We have those alumni then come back and share their experiences with the current group. So, I get to see my former students helping my current students. That is very gratifying to see that. I’ve been here long enough now that we have completed the circle.  

It’s always nice to hear when the alumni come back and find out that it was because of one of our speakers that they pursued the degree they did in the job they have or it was because of a tour that we went on, so that I can directly see how this is benefiting my students.