Spring/Summer 2019 Issue
Image of Stockton University's 2018 REAP apprentice, Yeyarliz Ortiz in the chemistry
laboratory. (Photo Credit: Susan Allen).
The Chemistry program was selected to participate in the Army Educational Outreach Program’s Research and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (REAP) during the summer of 2018. REAP is a summer research program designed to give high school students from historically underrepresented populations in STEM the opportunity to work on research projects under the guidance of mentors at local colleges and universities. The program provides a stipend for the participants as well as additional funding for the universities to host the programs.
Funding from the Army Educational Outreach Program allows Chemistry Program to host REAP program at Stockton.
Yeyraliz Ortiz, a current senior at Mainland Regional High School, particpated in Stockton's REAP program during the summer of 2018. Ortiz worked on a research project in the area of organometallic chemistry under the supervision of Steven Kalman, assistant professor of Chemistry. Kalman is the director of REAP at Stockton and served as the program’s inaugural mentor. Michelle Schmitz, a senior Biochemistry/Molecular Biology major and a research student in Kalman’s laboratory, also worked with Ortiz.
During the summer, Ortiz learned a variety of advance techniques in synthetic organometallic chemistry. Additionally, the Army Educational Outreach Program sponsored a series of webinars that featured leading scientists and engineers sharing their stories on how they entered their current professions. These webinars exposed the students to a variety of different career options in STEM-related fields. At the conclusion of Ortiz’s apprenticeship, she delivered an oral presentation, which highlighted her research progress, to the NAMS community.
The Chemistry Program has been selected to host REAP in the summer of 2019 and has received funding to host two area high school students. Barry Pemberton, assistant professor of Chemistry, and Pamela Cohn, associate professor of Chemistry, will be mentoring the two selected students in research projects in the area of organic chemistry. For more information about REAP at Stockton, please visit our website.
