Thursday, July 12, 2018
Vanessa's Aha! Moment
As a child, I remember playing with how-to science kits and models of the different systems in our body. I had always been curious as to why humans behave the way that we do and the science behind some of our natural body processes. I think the kits were my parents way of getting me to stop asking “why” all the time and for them to get educated as well. During my AP psychology class in high school, there was a “Neuroscience” unit and a lot of my childhood questions soon became answered. I had learned that our brains are wired differently, our memories and our environment greatly influence the substance in our brains, and most importantly, neuroscience would not be what it is today if it were not for all the advances made in other sciences like chemistry, biology, and psychology. I knew that if my dream was to become a neurologist, I would have had to master the basics in every science subject in order to fully understand how powerful our brains truly are.
Sanda's Aha! Moment
Growing up I never thought I would be as involved with science as I am today. My mentality when it came to science was that I couldn't do it because it was too hard. When I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian I had no choice other than conquer my fears. I ended up learning that science isn't hard, it just takes time and effort to understand and be able to put everything into one big picture. Once I learned that, I learned how to get through any struggle that came my way. Now here I am in my last semester before graduating with a degree in Biochemistry, looking forward to applying to vet school and becoming a DVM.
Fiorella's Aha! Moment
Through my high school career, I never enjoyed subjects such as history and english. But when it came to science and math, I loved it. I took Biology, Chemistry, and Calculus. Chemistry stuck out the most to me. My high school chemistry teacher influenced me to be a science major. As I made my way through university, my Chemistry 100 professor really showed me how amazing and beautiful the subject is. Although many aspects of chemistry are difficult, the labs for the classes really make everything worth it. One thing that I have learned from taking difficult chemistry classes is to be persistent and do what you love. I look forward to what the future has in store for me.
Khadija's Aha! Moment
I am relentlessly pursuing a degree in biochemistry because of my high school teachers. As cliche as it sounds, my high school chemistry and biology teachers had the magic to keep me engaged and interested in the respective topics no matter how difficult they became. When the time came to pick a major; I chose biochemistry because it was a combination of my favorite subjects. Biochemistry is an extremely complex subject that painstakingly explains how biological systems work.
Like most decisions I make; I was not absolutely sure if I had chosen the right major. There have been a few moments that reassured me.
The first was when I finally understood my research. Research is such an impactful learning tool because it takes in class lessons and applies them to a scientific issue. It challenges you to think critically. Practically you are getting to use all that information you've been gathering; it gives a purpose to all that biology and chemistry in my head.
The other significant moment was when we covered hemoglobin in class. It is hard to not be in awe at the intricacy of the simple act of breathing after learning it. Don't even get me started on glycolysis and the TCA cycle.
The conclusion from this should be, whatever you end up choosing to do with your life; make sure it captivates you and you'll have fun.
This is my journey thus far. Wish me luck!
Like most decisions I make; I was not absolutely sure if I had chosen the right major. There have been a few moments that reassured me.
The first was when I finally understood my research. Research is such an impactful learning tool because it takes in class lessons and applies them to a scientific issue. It challenges you to think critically. Practically you are getting to use all that information you've been gathering; it gives a purpose to all that biology and chemistry in my head.
The other significant moment was when we covered hemoglobin in class. It is hard to not be in awe at the intricacy of the simple act of breathing after learning it. Don't even get me started on glycolysis and the TCA cycle.
The conclusion from this should be, whatever you end up choosing to do with your life; make sure it captivates you and you'll have fun.
This is my journey thus far. Wish me luck!
Brandon's Aha! Moment
I’m a senior at CSUN majoring in chemistry and looking back, I have to say that I was first introduced to chemistry back in high school. I knew that I was always interested in science, but my high school chemistry class was definitely one of the first stepping stones that lead me to where I am today. Over the course of that first year learning chemistry, the concepts were just “clicking” for me and I knew that I definitely wanted to pursue this path to see where it ended up. I followed up with chemistry classes in college and I was fascinated with all the different types of chemistry fields out there. Organic, inorganic, analytical, synthetic, and others got me excited to see what options there were out there for me. To this day, I’m still excited to see where chemistry takes me!
#ACSBOSTON
Club members Andrew Zlatkin and Khadija Moctar will attend the 256th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston, MA from August 19th to August 23rd, 2018. Khadija is a Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) scholar at CSUN. Andrew has recently transferred to CSUN from Pierce College.
CSUN’s ACS Student Chapter was honored at the 255th ACS National Meeting in New Orleans, LA. We were among the 139 honorable mention chapters (3rd place) in 2016-2017. There were 435 chapters in total; 52 outstanding (1st place), and 114 commendable (2nd place). You can see our award in the display case on 3rd floor of Citrus Hall.
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| ACS Chapter Award |
Our ACS Student Chapter received a $300 National Meeting Travel Grant from the ACS to help defray travel costs for Andrew and Khadija. We are planning other fundraising activities, as well as applying for funds from CSUN's Student Travel & Academic Research (STAR) program.
Each CSUN student pays the $90 Associated Students (AS) fee every semester. Fifty cents of that fee is put in the STAR, totaling approximately $200,000 for the academic year. Examples of covered expenditures include conference registration fees, airfare, hotel and ground transportation.
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| Khadija and Andrew at "I'm Going to College Day #1" |
Students must submit proof (invitation or receipt) that he or she will be presenting or speaking at the conference. Currently enrolled students may submit requests for STAR funding throughout the academic year at least one month in advance. New funding for is available starting July 1, 2018. STAR funding is available on a first-come, first served basis.
The CSUN Chemistry & Biochemistry Club hosted 7 service events (sharing chemistry with over 200 elementary, middle and high school children), 9 professional development events (with a combined total of over 160 attendees), and 3 chapter development events in the 2017-2018 school year. This is what Khadija and Andrew will be sharing with other ACS Student Chapters at the National Meeting next month.
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