The UConn Department of Chemistry, working alongside the Office of Early College Programs & UConn Early College Experience (ECE), annually brings high school students from around Connecticut to the Storrs campus to see exactly what happens in their research laboratories – a tradition that continued this year, despite the challenges of a global pandemic.<\/p>\n
The yearly event is a great chance for high schoolers to be exposed to chemistry and related STEM fields as they consider their future studies and careers.<\/p>\n
While the COVID-19 pandemic prevented those types of in-person visits this year, a Berlin High School chemistry teacher worked with UConn to make sure his students had that type of experience virtually.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe visits to UConn are really important to the students taking UConn classes for credit in high school,\u201d says Brendan Wilkosz \u201903 (ED), \u201904 M.Ed., who has been at Berlin HS since 2004, and teaches a chemistry class that grants UConn credit through the ECE program. \u201cThere can be a disconnect for the students if they are physically separated from UConn.\u00a0 This year, that was not possible, but it was important for me to do something, so we worked on a virtual day. There was a real willingness at UConn to get that done to have students experience the challenges and complexities of the work, but also see that the research is cutting edge.\u201d<\/p>\n