by Samantha Hauff

This past semester, PC’s chapter of the American Chemical Society-American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ACS-ASBMB) organized and hosted a STEM outreach event for high school students at Thornwell Charter School.

“Our mission as an organization is to foster STEM skills, research, and community among students at Presbyterian College and beyond,” said William Johnson, President of ACS-ASBMB.

PC students were able to apply their knowledge from the classroom, independent research, and the lab to a functional event that sought to provide a new view of STEM to under-resourced students in the community.

“Thornwell students got their hands on ‘hot-ice’ and ‘cabbage dye’ experiments, while experiments on ‘elephant toothpaste’ and ‘chemical traffic lights’ were presented as demonstrations,” said PC professor Dr. Kimberly De la Cruz, director of ACS-ASBMB. “Various chemistry concepts involving thermodynamics, rates of reactions, pH, and redox reactions were illustrated via these experiments.”

STEM experiments and demonstrations such as this provide accessibility to high school students who may have never considered college or careers in STEM. To have college students explaining and modeling a functional use of their degrees through scientific communication, allowed these high school students to have something to look towards in regards to their futures.

“The students were engaged and so excited to watch the experiments performed. Every time a new concept was explained, or a new chemical reaction was shown the students’ faces lit up in awe,” said club member Eva Hinkleman. “Seeing this, I pictured some of these students becoming future chemistry majors and felt a deep connection to help them pursue this!”

The ACS-ASBMB club members were able to understand the awe for science in the way they understood it in their high school years. Each of the members know how important it is to expose these students to STEM to instill the idea that careers in STEM are not out of reach, no matter a student’s socioeconomic status.

Hinkleman empathized with the students.

“Being introduced to science in high school is vital to feel confident coming into college,” she said. “As a student who was under-resourced in high school, I understand the importance of having a basic knowledge of science topics before coming to college.”

Johnson echoed similar remarks.

“Thornwell is one of the largest primary schools in the county of Laurens, and it specializes in teaching kids who may not be able to get an education elsewhere,” he said. “Whether that be because the students are foster kids, children of low-income families, or simply have no other school to go to, Thornwell accepts them all. Volunteering my time to be able to show them an experiment that their labs may not have been able to do was a great experience, and I could see how much it excited the kids. I sincerely hope that it brightened their day and helped them to see science for what it is, fun and interesting.”

ACS-ASBMB embodies one of the pillars of PC – innovative service. Students were able to touch the untouched corners of STEM and bridge the gap between student interest and STEM careers. ACS-ASBMB also was able to model their communication skills and establish themselves as role models to Laurens County’s future chemists and biologists.

“I’d love to continue doing this event every year or maybe every semester if possible since it really had a positive impact on the students from PC who volunteered and those at Thornwell,” said Johnson. “I’ll definitely do my part to share my experiences with the new class of officers next year.”

PC looks to continue a connection with Thornwell to continue to interest students in careers that would otherwise feel completely out of reach.