ACGS Held Bake Sale to Help Ownby Family

January 20, 2013 by newframe

Association of Chemistry Graduate Students (ACGS) held a bake sale on January 17 and 18 in the chemistry tutorial center to help Ownby family, whose house was burned down two weeks ago. Marilyn Ownby works for the Chemistry Department in the general chemistry lab.

An email calling for participation was sent two weeks prior to the bake sale. Over thirty people volunteered to bake. Baked goods ranged from freshly baked loaves of bread to brownies to cheesecakes.

More than a hundred faculty, students and staff showed up during the two days of sale and contributed over a thousand dollars in total.

“The idea was to provide a more accessible way for graduates and undergraduates to help.” Sam Rosolina, Community Service Chair of ACGS said. “With a limited disposable income it’s hard for us to see our few dollars going far for causes like this, but this sale was proof that a little can go a long way when so many people are involved.”

Rosolina was also surprised to see how many undergraduate students came to show support once they found out what the cause was.

Almost everyone in the Department participated and helped to organize the event. “I want to especially thank Pam Roach and Christiane Barnes who performed large roles in making the event happen.” said Rosolina.

Fundraising is still going on for Ownby family. If you would like to make a donation, please following the link created by their daughter http://www.giveforward.com/reliefforfirevictims.

Chemistry Department Held BoV Career Workshop

January 15, 2013 by newframe

The Department of Chemistry held 2013 Board of Visitors Career Workshop Unveiling the Mystique of Industry and Government Jobs, co-sponsored by Association of Chemistry Graduate Students, on Thursday, January 10 from 1pm to 5pm in Buehler Hall 511.

Six speakers, all on Chemistry Board of Visitors, are from industry, ORAU and ORNL. They were invited to give talks on different aspects of job hunting including interviewing and hiring process, resume building, dos and don’ts during on-site interviews, identifying jobs, government jobs and specifics about being a chemist at ORNL. Each speaker gave a presentation and took questions both during and after their presentations.

32 graduate students attended the workshop. A survey conducted afterwards shows that all students found it useful. “I thorougly enjoyed the workshop.” Morgan McConico, a graduate student from Vogt’s group said, “Before the workshop I had several open ended questions, and after the workshop I feel that all of my questions have been answered.  I now feel better equipped for the entire process of applying and interviewing for jobs.” McConico is expected to graduate in May and is actively looking for jobs in industry.

Not only students, but also BOV members enjoyed the workshop. “One of the greatest personal rewards I enjoy is meeting students.” Warren Schmidt, Chemistry BOV member said, “I look forward to my visits to UT as an opportunity to meet some more of our future leaders and scientists. In this workshop, I was pleased with the pre-work completed by many of the students, their attention to the presentations, and especially the quality of the questions.”

Naixiong (David) Jin, a graduate student from Zhao’s Group was especially thankful for the variety of speakers this workshop has brought together. “The speakers had extended experience in the hiring process either for industrial jobs or positions in national laboratories. They shared many details and useful tips all the way from resume preparation to on-site interviews.” Jin will also graduate in May and is open to all opportunities in industry, national laboratories and universities.

Positive feedbacks and constructive suggestions have strengthened the belief that this is a constant need of the students. “If possible, we plan to host this workshop every year.” Rachel Rui, Development Coordinator of the Department said. “We may also bring some students who recently graduated and found jobs to share their succesful stories. So the students are able to get information from two different perspectives.”