Buies Creek, N.C.—The Campbell University chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Chemistry Club was recently featured in the ACS’ national magazine inChemistry. The club was one of six nationwide recognized for its inventive ideas for recruiting new members in the February/March 2011 edition of the publication.
“People are the heart of any ACS Student chapter,” wrote feature writer Lori Bestock in the article, ‘A Guide to Successful Membership Recruitment.’ “Without new members to take on active roles, chapters can languish as older members graduate and move on.”
The Campbell chapter was cited for its participation in a campus street fair, organized by the University for all university clubs and organizations. Many companies from the surrounding area also participate. The fair serves to introduce incoming students to the opportunities for extracurricular involvement around campus.
“We go all out for the street fair,” said Campbell ACS Chemistry Club Vice President Bethany Starnes. “At one of the fairs, the club conducted a rather dramatic science experiment using balloons to demonstrate the properties of hydrogen and helium. The helium balloon popped and the hydrogen balloon caught on fire when we ignited them, proving that hydrogen gas is a lot more volatile than helium.”
The science experiment and the opportunity to meet and talk to ACS club members at the street fair is one of club’s most successful recruitment techniques, Starnes explained. Conducting science experiments at a local elementary school, Boone Trail, each year is another way in which the club builds visibility in the community and interests young students in science. The 60-member club also helps man the American Chemical Society booth at the North Carolina State Fair each year, a dissemination point for information and career opportunities in science.
“For a small club at a private university, it is really an honor to be mentioned by a national chemistry magazine, especially when most of the other schools mentioned are state schools,” Starnes said. “We were really excited to get that kind of exposure.”
Other universities featured in the article were the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, Xavier University in New Orleans, La., the University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and South Texas College in McAllen.
Each issueofinChemistry magazine covers special topics in chemistry careers, professional development and other topics of concern to undergraduate students in the chemical sciences.
Photo Copy: Members of the Campbell University chapter of the ACS Chemistry Club conduct science demonstrations at Boone Trail Elementary School. From left, Cameron Parrish, Irina Severnchek, Campbell Physics Professor Jason Ezell, Chemistry Professor Dr. Lin Coker, Boone Trail Assistant Principal Tracie Metz. Back Row, from left, Jacob Keaton, Bethany Starnes and Dante Perez.