How would you finish the following sentence: being a professor at Trinity means… 

Guiding students to find their place in education, teaching them how to learn and succeed, supporting them in pursuing their future endeavors, and hopefully just hopefully igniting a passion for chemistry!

Your research and area of focus are in Chemistry but you also contribute to the ozone collection project here on campus with students in collaboration with other universities in Texas, which is supported by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). What has your experience of doing this work with your students been like and can you see yourself incorporating this work into your current teaching?

Working with TCEQ, the University of Houston, and St. Edwards University on the ozone project is one of the many really fun things that I get to do on campus and I am grateful that Trinity allows us to do the work here. I love getting to have my own mini-research group in the fall because I feel like I am still contributing to science through this small effort. Working with the students is a major plus. I get to know them better, get a sense of their work ethic, and always end up mentoring those that I spend more time with. We do two launches a day, (am/pm) and get up before sunrise to release our morning balloons and sit in the heat sweating while tracking our balloon in the afternoon on the roof of Mars McLean. It's always great to see student commitment during these non-ideal times, and I try to make the hours more enjoyable with breakfast tacos and Mexican sweet bread. 

I definitely incorporate my research into my teachings. I talk about my ozone/balloon project at the beginning of each semester's courses and always get interested students that want to help out. Additionally, I tie in the environmental aspect of the balloon launches into my classes when I talk about environmental pollutants and how we can measure them with analytical instrumentation. 

As an educator, what is a commonly held misconception about Chemistry that students have and what are some ways that you work to debunk them that other educators could use in their fields of study?

One of the first things that I hear about chemistry from students is that it is really hard and a lot of work. Chemistry can be very challenging but with practice, patience, and the right mindset any student can be successful especially at Trinity because our department is very supportive of students and our classes are very well structured. Anything in the STEM field is a lot of work and if you want to be good at it, it is definitely worth it in the end, especially chemistry! Additionally, most students are only familiar with the first semester of general chemistry coming out of high school and there are so many other types of chemistries that students haven’t experienced, so I try to tell them that just because general chemistry might not be easy or clicking for them doesn’t mean another one won’t. 

When it comes to your role as a Chemistry educator, how have you incorporated diversity and inclusion practices into your courses and labs? What impacts do you hope these practices will have on future generations of chemists?

Some things I've incorporated include: 

• Talking about current events on campus or in the world 

• Using unethical chemicals in our daily products and food as in class examples 

• Connecting with each student individually in class and in office hours 

• Doing experiments that allow students to bring their own experiences to the table 

• Snacks in my office 

• Being a McNair faculty tutorial 

• Bringing food to class 

• Supporting students in their extracurricular activities

• Wearing Women in Science t shirts and Hispanic heritage t shirts 

• Offering extra credit 

• Being open and honest with my students so that they trust me 

I hope that students leave my courses with a respect for chemistry, not being too hard on themselves when they mess up (because a random test grade in a class here or there doesn't really matter in the long run), that students feel that I am a safe space where they can ask any question and also stop by chat about whatever they are proud of or struggling with, and that they know regardless of their race, gender, intelligence, etc. they can accomplish things that they truly work hard for and are unstoppable.