Session: Successful Student Chapters:

While this year may look different from most, the ACS student chapter at Ouachita Baptist University is working hard to share chemistry with others on campus and others outside our community. As a chapter we continued a mentorship program which pairs upperclassmen science majors with underclassmen science majors in order to help lead the younger students to future success. During the National Chemistry Week, we helped others experience the joy of chemistry by having two different days where students could pick-up “to-go” demo materials to do in their own dorms. ACS members recorded an example of how to do the demo and it was uploaded to the OBU ACS Instagram. Also, during the National Chemistry Week, Phil Brandon, President of Rock Town Distillery in Little Rock, Arkansas, guest lectured via Zoom about how his company helped out during the Covid-19 pandemic. During this week, we continued the fun by celebrating Mole Day by having a “mole hunt” for students to win prizes! Later in the semester, graduate students from the University of Arkansas, Baylor University, and Vanderbilt University, joined our chapter for a Zoom meeting as a panel to discuss graduate school and answer questions for our students. In an effort to improve our social presence on campus, we plan to host a bonfire for the students to gather safely and experience community. Since Covid-19, we have not been able to meet in person as much, but this opportunity will allow us to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines while giving our members an event to look forward to! Another step for our chapter is to become a green chapter. We plan to visit a solar energy farm in Camden, Arkansas, once we are allowed on-site. Finally, for our big and most fun event of the year, we are planning a virtual Women in STEM conference! In this conference, we plan to have a guest keynote speaker as well as breakout rooms with each of the different areas of science: chemistry, biology, mathematics, computer science, dietetics, nursing, and medicine. We plan to invite members of all ACS chapters within the state because we believe this conference could be beneficial for all women in college who don’t know what they want their future career to be as well as those who are already decided. As a chapter, we are making an effort to reach not only other students at our university, but the state as a whole. Our chapter experienced a lot of growth this year and we expect it to only keep getting better from here!

Sharon Hamilton

Appearances