Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s American Chemical Society (ACS) student chapter was recognized as an “Outstanding Student Chapter” for the 2014-15 academic year. This is the highest form of recognition available to ACS chapters and only 30 out of nearly 1,000 chapters earn the honor each year. This is the first time the Ouachita student chapter has received the award in more than 10 years. The award will be presented officially at the ACS National Meeting in San Diego, Calif., in March 2016.

According to Dr. Sara Hubbard, assistant professor of chemistry and faculty advisor for Ouachita’s ACS student chapter, earning the prestigious award requires significant effort from students. Along with the chapter’s overall performance throughout the year, the award is based on an end-of-the-year report written by the chapter president. Hubbard notes that last year’s president, and recent Ouachita graduate, Dustin Walter, “did an incredible job crafting a well-written report that truly conveyed all the amazing things” ACS students achieved last year.

“This past year, the students have participated in additional events, such as the Girls in STEM event hosted by the School of Natural Sciences,” Hubbard explained. “They also received a grant from ACS to perform science skits for children at Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Additionally, they have worked to participate in and host more professional scientific events and to provide social events for the members to help foster a sense of community.”

Trevor Meece, a senior chemistry and biology double major from Mountain Home, Ark., and current president of the Ouachita ACS student chapter, said he expects the award to have “huge implications for the upcoming year.”

“We have never done anything in this chapter for the purpose of receiving an award,” he noted. “We never will, but seeing that what we did last year was highly successful, we can now do more to reach out to the campus and community knowing that what we are doing is representing ACS in a way that they find outstanding.”

“Starting off the school year with this recognition as an outstanding chapter has given the club a lot of excitement,” added Allie Hegi, a senior chemistry and biology double major from El Dorado, Ark., and ACS campus outreach coordinator. “We are so grateful for this honor and we are all excited to work toward attaining this recognition again next year!”

The American Chemical Society is an international organization dedicated to advancing science, advocating chemistry, educating the public and supporting future chemists. The Ouachita ACS student chapter hopes to continue to maintain excellence through fostering meaningful relationships with students on campus and individuals in the community. They are off to an early start in this year’s events, having already participated in Tinkerfest at the Museum of Discovery on Sept. 19, and have plans to further connect with students on campus.

“Our chapter’s main goal through campus outreach is to show the rest of the campus how applicable chemistry is to everyday life. We accomplish this by doing demonstrations on campus during OcTiger Fest and Spring Fling,” explained Hegi. “We also host National Chemistry Week every year. This year the theme is the chemistry of color, so hopefully we can show everyone that chemistry is not just goggles and test tubes, but that it can be fun! I think a lot of people hear the word ‘chemistry’ and are immediately intimidated, but we are here to show everyone that chemistry is all around us and that it is really cool!”

For more information on Ouachita’s ACS chapter, contact Dr. Sara Hubbard at [email protected].

 

By Anna Hurst