St. John’s University recently held a Chemistry Day event in May, aiming to ignite interest in the chemical sciences among high school students and provide them with early exposure to college-level research and career opportunities in chemistry.
The event attracted 129 freshmen and sophomores from five local high schools: Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Holy Cross High School, The Mary Louis Academy, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and Queens Preparatory Academy. These students participated in hands-on workshops at St. John’s Queens, NY campus designed to offer insights into the field of chemistry.
David P. Brown, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry at St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and co-organizer of the event, stated that “Chemistry Day was a strategic opportunity that effectively leveraged the unique strengths and opportunities of becoming a part of the St. John’s community.” He noted that participants were engaged with exploring potential career options while emphasizing undergraduate and graduate studies in chemistry.
Workshops were directed by Dr. Brown along with Philip S. Lukeman, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Assistant Chair; Elise Megehee, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Chair; and Joseph M. Serafin, Ph.D., Associate Professor—all from the Department of Chemistry at St. John’s University. The workshops highlighted academic pathways as well as life experiences shared by current students and recent graduates who have studied chemistry or biochemistry at St. John’s.
Drs. Megehee and Serafin concluded one session with an ice cream demonstration using liquid nitrogen to illustrate real-world chemical applications.
A career-focused panel led by Dr. Brown featured alumni working in various chemistry-related fields such as environmental health safety specialization, chemical engineering/application science, forensic chemistry, and residency medicine. Each speaker discussed their professional journey while highlighting how their education at St. John’s contributed to their success.
Another session under Dr. Lukeman’s guidance allowed current student researchers from St. John’s to present ongoing projects tackling real-world challenges through chemistry.
Participants left with gift bags as tokens of appreciation while three lucky attendees received St. John’s sweatshirts.
Expressing satisfaction with student engagement during the event, Dr.Lukeman said: “We were happy to see so many enthusiastic high school students who wanted to discover the opportunities a chemistry major at St.John’s has in learning science doing research that helps people going on fulfilling careers.” He added that they look forward to welcoming more students next year.
