Before strictly adhering to the instructions I will make a general statement, or possibly a series of them. This was a great course, especially in comparison to the science related subjects I have taken in the past. As someone who is at times intimidated by the STEM field I left this seminar feeling more confident in my ability to analyze and understand scientific journals/findings. The making of Aspirin was an especially valuable lab experiment, as we created something that has been and continues to serve a great public good. For someone like myself who is more interested in the humanities, this felt like a journey back in history where we retraced the steps of Felix Hoffman and other great innovators like him.

The soap lab was another highlight as we were able to overlook the process  for the making one of the most in-demand commodities. Saponification is even more fun than the name makes it sound. One of my all time favorite lessons was for our last class when Dr. Greer taught us about caffeine and how it interacts with the body. The topic was timely and of great interest to a caffeine driven subset of the population, college students. Even though the process of presenting our projects in front of the class repeatedly was not the most thrilling, the final result spoke for itself and reflect the effort we put in. Group work is something I usually shy away from when possible, preferring to control most aspects of the assignment. This group activity made me adjust my professional approach when interacting with fellow students and to find common ground whenever possible. Most importantly I am leaving this class with a newfound love of and interest in science. Thank you Dr. Greer and Dr. Cohen for that.