Chemistry's Student Welcoming Event

On behalf of the Chemistry Department at Frostburg State University, Dr. Matthew Crawford organized an interest meeting for prospective chemistry majors. Chemistry’s Student Welcoming Event took place on Tuesday, October 9^th in the third floor lobby of the Compton Science Center. As an extension of the bi-weekly Student Members of the American Chemical Society meeting, freshman and sophomores as well as juniors and seniors were all in attendance.

Before the event had officially begun, the aroma of pizza had diffused throughout the third floor of Compton. Upon arrival students were welcomed and instructed to sign in. Also, they were instructed to enter in the drawing to win a $25 gift card to the school bookstore. Members of the chemistry faculty present included, Matthew Crawford, Mary Mumper, Benjamin Norris, Robert Larivee, Peggy Biser and Jerald Simon. After the students ate, Dr. Crawford explained the purpose of the event. Sarah Daskal, a recent graduate employed by the Chemistry Department at Frostburg State University, gave all of the students a chance to introduce themselves. Upon observation, it could be concluded that most of the attendees were in fact upperclassmen. The rest of the event proceeded as a meet and greet amongst the students and the faculty.

One student in attendance was a freshman named Kathleen Ako. She attributed her awareness of the event to Dr. Mumper. She is in the process of considering the major. Kathleen’s interest in chemistry stems from her desire to become a pharmacist. She says, “Pharmacists are chemists so it makes sense. People say you can still be a biology major but I think I’m going to go with chemistry because you would learn more pertaining to pharmacy.” Although you could hear the uncertainty in her voice, you could tell she was more than happy to accept the challenge in order to attain her long-term goal.

In response to the event, senior chemistry major Victoria Martin was willing to share her thoughts. She expressed her support for the event by suggesting that an event like this would have been helpful to her as a freshman. She says, “It gives you the opportunity to meet some of the faculty who teach some of the upper level courses. It also allows you to ask other students their own personal experiences with the chemistry classes.”

At the conclusion of the welcoming event, Dr. Crawford showed much enthusiasm when discussing the event and how it came about. On deciding to get everyone together he says, “It was a good opportunity for the faculty and for students that are in chemistry to get to meet the new freshman chemistry [students] that are interested.” He reports that he was able to meet four prospects during the event. He explained how he began teaching at Frostburg State University just last fall in 2011. He talked about being a newcomer and how he had not gotten to know many of the upperclassman. Therefore, it was especially important to him to get to know those who were in the early stages of their educational career here at Frostburg State University as chemistry majors.

Overall, the event went smoothly. Many conversations were held over pizza and soda. Freshman could be seen conversing with upperclassman and the faculty alike. The casual nature of the event clearly contributed to everyone’s comfort, enabling students to take full advantage of the event arranged especially for them.