Chemistry Faculty To Lead a STEM Colloquium for Students Jan. 27

January 24, 2023

January 24, 2023 – The Chemistry faculty at Santa Fe College are inviting all STEM students, with a focus of minority students, to attend the first session of the Spring 2023 College Colloquium to be held Friday, Jan. 27, from 1 – 2:15 p.m. un Building WA, Room 108.

The colloquium is a 75-minute discussion-based session where advanced students share their experiences with beginning students and faculty. It is designed to facilitate beginning students' comprehension of factors that could affect their individual success including negatively in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) classes. Furthermore, the colloquium allows students, particularly those from minority groups, to share minority-related college experiences, impressions, and reflections in an open forum. Also, faculty and administrative staff will become more cognizant of issues that affect minority students.

Sessions include student-supporting and student-led discussions to address issues related to:

• Minority population retention in STEM,
• Enrichment of First-Generation College Student Experience,
• Social Justice and Values
• Critical Thinking and Wellness
• Improvement of Academic Performance, and
• Professionalism and Leadership.

Discussions related to these topics will be conducted on Fridays from 1 – 2:15 p.m. of weeks 3, and 10 of the Spring 2023 semester in Room C-119, on the Northwest Campus. All students who sign the attendance form and complete Student Opinion Surveys for the "College Readiness" presentation at the colloquium sessions will be given a token of 5 Extra Credit towards Test 1, and 3, respectively, of Spring 2023 chemistry class.

The first guest speaker is Joseph Washington, a former Chemistry student at SF. He is currently a Research Fellow at the consulting firm, Xcenda. He collaborates with many world-leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, digital health, and diagnostic companies. He received his PharmD and MPH from the University of Florida.