Crazy in love with U(ranium)

An interview with St. Kate’s Chem Club president

By Tessa Schoenecker

This Valentine’s Day, chemistry is on everyone’s minds. Are our zodiac signs compatible? What if I hate the way they eat? What if they find out about the crime spree in Wyoming in the ‘80s, leading to the death of the man I was? Do we like the same kind of music? But Morgan Batiste-Simms has a different kind of chemistry in mind. The current president of the St. Kate’s Chemistry Club, Batiste-Simms joined me to share a little bit about what makes the club so great. 

Schoenecker: What got the St. Kate’s chemistry club started?

Morgan Batiste-Simms is the president of the St. Kate’s Chemistry Club.

Batiste-Simms: St. Kate’s has had our chemistry club for at least a couple of years now, maybe four or five- it might be earlier, I’m not sure. We’re a very small club. I got into Chemistry Club my sophomore year. You know, it was a fluke that I got into it, but I was like, ‘I can’t believe more people don’t know about this.’ You know, more STEM majors. As a sophomore, that was my first year, my junior year I was the secretary, and then this year I became the president. One of my goals was to get more marketing, and market our club and just let people know we’re here. [So you’ve kind of risen through every level of the club.] Yeah, I always knew that I wanted to be an officer, since sophomore year. I was a biology major, but the club kind of made me reflect on what I wanted to major in, so I actually ended up switching to a chemistry major! And the club has been a really integral part of that, it’s what got me introduced to the chemistry department faculty and all the professors, because they come to all our meetings, so you really get to know them on a personal basis. It’s been awesome. 

S: What kind of activities does the Chemistry Club do?

B-S: We are largely events based. We typically have some more general meetings in the beginning of the semester, when we’re trying to get to know each other. We’ll do something like, for example, last semester we painted old records, and recycled metal bottle tops to create buttons. We have an annual Halloween bash, and almost all the professors show up. You know, if they’re not there, it’s probably because they’re in a meeting, or in a lab. We do this Jackbox game, Trivia Murder Party- we try and do chemistry based trivia, and stuff like that. Recently what’s been getting popular is our plant pottery sale, which we do in conjunction with the Biology Club. We give our members the pots to paint usually over spring break [..], and then they bring them back and we sell them, and Biology normally does a plant sale along with it. 

S: Who would be the kind of person to enjoy chemistry club?

B-S: You know what, anyone who is even remotely interested in science. I feel like the science that people like to see, or the science that’s on TV, that has explosions, or color changes or volumetric flasks- you know, they’re these little glass bottles and people like to call them potion bottles. That’s all chemistry! In Harry Potter, you know, I’m a Potter fan, I always try and tell people, ‘Okay, you know Harry’s potions class? That’s chemistry!’ And so, anyone who’s interested in things like that, or finds that cool, we totally welcome them to Chemistry Club. [...] And the other thing is like students who are STEM majors and are maybe a little apprehensive to be in their chemistry classes [..], we really want to provide a support base for them, a place for them to ask questions and not feel like they’re stupid, because we’re all students, and we’re all in this together. And also just to get a less traumatic introduction into chemistry! If you’re around people who love chemistry, and who want to help you learn and understand the subject, you’re way less likely to be shut down and not ask questions. [...] On Fridays, we have study days, where you can study and do your homework- it doesn’t have to be chemistry, but if you do have a chemistry-related question, one of us will probably be able to help you. [..] And of course, our near and dear chemistry majors. If you’re a chemistry major, you need to be in Chemistry Club. [...] We’ve had so many field engineers and chemists come and give talks to our club, and set up connections for internships. Those are the members we want, which as you can see is a vast array. 

S: If you can’t make club meetings, what can you do?

B-S: Our meetings are two Tuesdays out of the month for general club members from 12-1 in Mendel 110. And we definitely realize that a lot of clubs also have that schedule, and you know, sometimes they fall on the same Tuesday. [...] And that’s totally fine, because the events that we have, our big events, are not Tuesday from 12-1. [...] Most of the time we send a poll out for when people could attend these events, so you can totally do that if you can’t make the regular meeting time. A lot of athletes are in the club even though they have practice during that time. We always post our meeting minutes on our website, and so you can follow those, or come to our events, or when the plant sale comes around, schedule a pick up, so you can definitely still be a part of the club without going to the general meetings. 

S: What’s your favorite part of the club?

B-S: I mean right off the bat, the members. Just the community aspect of it. Even with my officers, I don’t have classes all the time with all of my officers, but we get to see each other a couple of times a week for Chemistry Club. And it’s so fun talking with the members, especially the STEM majors, who are taking or are going to be taking some of the classes that we’ve already taken. Maybe they’ve met us once or twice, or seen us once or twice, but here we are, like, ‘Oh my gosh, I remember when Dr. Wollack does this!’ or ‘Does Dr. Wollack still throw his eraser at the board to let you know what type of reaction it is?’ So you just bond over those common classes and memories that you share. That, and then all the events that we get to do. The community and the events are so fun. We’re getting to do two field trips, one to the Science Museum and one to this huge lab at the University of Minnesota. [...] I love those aspects of it. 

S: Do you believe love can be broken down into chemistry?

B-S: Yes! But you know, we can’t make a love potion, we can’t be Ron and- oh gosh, I can’t remember the girl’s name for the life of me. We can’t make someone fall in love with us, but you do definitely have certain chemicals increased in your brain, such as serotonin or dopamine, when you do love someone. So, absolutely! There’s a reason that you have to have “chemistry” with someone before you can be in love with them.

S: So you’re saying you can’t make us a Love Potion No. 9 this year?

B-S: You know what, the day I do, I will officially call myself a wizard.

More information on Chemistry Club can be found on https://chemclub0.wixsite.com/mysite, along with a form to join the email list and receive the latest updates.