On Nov. 3rd at 6:30 p.m., the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences will be hosting its first science community night in Legacy Hall.
The event aims to welcome the science alumni back and celebrate the sciences. Although the community night is directed at the science majors, the event is welcome to all students, faculty, family, alumni and community members.
“Basically what it [science community night] is that the student organizations are going to get up and actually talk about their clubs,” Dr. Nick Flynn, professor of advanced metabolism, biochemistry and general chemistry, said. “So it’ll be a really fun thing for them to participate in. So they’re going to do that, and then Dr. Joseph Atchison, who is a physics alumnus and is doing a postdoctoral fellowship at Abilene Christian University, is going to give a keynote address so that people can see what you can do with a degree because I’m very big into STEM education, so the thought is for the students to see and to learn what they’re going to do.”
The science community night is a fundraiser for the student organizations, so all the proceeds from registrations and the silent auction will go towards each science student organization. The organizations will then decide how they’d like to use the funding, whether that be for field trips, food at their meetings or anything else they deem essential.
“The goal for the event is for the science community, but also fundraising for the student organizations,” Dr. Flynn said. “You know, I want to see them get some additional money. I call it ‘seed money,’ you know, that they can use for other things.”
Dr. Flynn believes that those who attend the event are going to have a chance to truly learn all that the natural sciences are doing or have a chance to mingle with alumni.
“To learn more about what WT is doing and to learn about the wonderful things that these student organizations are doing,” Dr. Flynn said. “We have some faculty that are going to be there as well. So particularly for the alumni, if you had a favorite microbiology professor, or some, you know, somebody like that, who’s still here, and you want to come back and reconnect with them, you certainly can.”
The organizations that will be featured include the American Chemical Society, Climate Society, Companion Animal Club, Environmental Society, Geology Club, Pre-Healthcare, Pre-Veterinary, Society of Physics Students, Tri-Beta and Wildlife Society.
“This is the first event of its kind,” Dr. Flynn said. “If you’re an alumnus, and you’re thinking about coming to this event, I think it would be very much worth your while. If you’re a member of the community or a student and you just want to hang around the science folks, and you want to see what it’s about, I’d encourage them to come.”
With over 100 people already registered for the event, Dr. Flynn and the student organizations involved are excited and are hoping the science community night will become an annual event.
