Spring 2023
Isabel Adams
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Major: Engineering What are your future plans? National park service ranger :) Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excitement Hobbies/fun facts: I love to hike, climb, and eat yummy food. What I love about chemistry: Ochem is like a puzzle! What advice would you give new students? DO THE EC HOMEWORK. It helps build a foundation for the rest of the class. |
Kesaia Akau
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Graduate School in Chemistry Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Rewarding Hobbies/fun facts: I like volleyball, binging K-dramas, and baking. I'm a total foodie and have a huge sweet tooth. What I love about chemistry: I love the applicability to everyday life. I especially love the community this class brings. Organic chemistry is challenging but, it was a positive experience for me because of the incredible support from my peers, TAs, and Holly. What advice would you give new students? Organic chemistry builds on itself. Work hard to understand the basics and everything will come much easier. Don't be discouraged if something doesn't click right away. If you're struggling, reach out and ask questions! Seriously. We're here to support you. |
Madison Bailey
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Major: Chemistry What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Comfort Hobbies/fun facts: I like to paint, play video games, and read. What I love about chemistry: Chemistry explains how living organisms function at the smallest level. On top of that, everything we know is build up of these atoms that bond and interact with each other to create the world as we know it. It is very powerful knowledge. What advice would you give new students? Problem Sets are your best friend. |
Nathan Bartlett
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Major: Engineering What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Interested Hobbies/fun facts: I love baseball and sports in general. I also love to ski! What I love about chemistry: I love that it all builds on itself. So, the more you learn, the more that even previously covered topics will make sense! Advice to students: Always keep trying! Try to get ahead on work from the beginning, but always know that you can catch up. |
Puja Batchu
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Exciting! Hobbies/fun facts: I am vegetarian and love trying new recipes! If you have a good recipe, feel free to send it to me! :) What I love about chemistry: Chemistry is logical and creative at the same time! I love that "aha" moment when you finally figure out a topic you did not previously understand. Advice to students: Do not be afraid to ask for help! Organic chemistry is really fun, but it can be difficult if you get behind. There are lots of resources available for success! If you don't know where to start, I suggest going to an office hour and asking a TA for advice. |
Radhika Bhakta
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Major: QAMO and Chemistry w/ Chemical Engineering Emphasis What are your future plans? Graduate School in Chemical Engineering Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Exhilerating! Hobbies/fun facts: I love makeup art and trying new looks as well as going to the gym and lifting. I also love watching anime and reading. If you force me to complete a 1000 piece Lego set and provide me with coffee, I would consider that a terrific day. There is nothing I love more than trying new things especially trying new places to eat and travelling as much as I can! What I love about chemistry: Chemistry is complex, elegant, and abundant. It’s like solving a fun puzzle that is applicable to things you see everyday. It connects both physics and biology by being the application of physics yet the underlying explanation of biological processes. Specifically, organic chemistry has made me fall in love with and understand chemistry a lot more! Advice to students: Active recall is terrific, and I liked to do this by not looking at my notes and attempting the PDQ on my own. After I was absolutely sure I could not figure it out, I would ask for help! I got really close to some of my TAs, and I went to their office hours often. Find connections between mechanisms by grouping them in terms of their rules. Ask questions right as you think of them so there are no gaps in your understanding for a long period of time. |
Mike Borton
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Major: Family, Community, and Human Development What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Worthwhile Hobbies/fun facts: I would pay thousands of dollars to be able to breakdance. What I love about chemistry: The ability to be explained and actually make sense. Advice to students: Consistency is key and keep your head up.
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Amber Brooks
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Enthralled Hobbies/fun facts: I am on the club swim team and I do some cool research in a lab studying pediatric traumatic brain injuries. What I love about chemistry: I love chemistry because every problem feels like a puzzle. As you learn new content, more pieces will begin to fill in, and each individual problem could be solved by manipulating what you already know. Advice to students: This class takes time and patience. Be gracious to yourself when you make mistakes, but ensure you are learning from them. Use office hours, reviews, class time, and discussions to help engage in the material. You've got this!
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Alex Cannon
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Major: Biology What are your future plans: Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry: Passionate Hobbies/fun Facts: I love to read, go to the gym, hike, and generally spend time outside. What I love about chemistry: I can't claim to love general chemistry, but I love organic chemistry because it feels like a puzzle. It's incredibly fulfilling to learn the tricks to solving a puzzle, practice them until they feel like second nature, and put them to use in solving more complex problems than you ever imagined at first! I've never taken another class quite like that. Advice to students: O Chem gets a bad rap for being too hard, but you can succeed! I mean that! I never believed that could be true about me until it happened. It helps that this course is set up to help you succeed, too. If you believe in yourself and give your best effort, I know you'll be just fine. |
Linden Carter
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Major: Psychology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited Hobbies/fun facts: I love to listen to music, rollerblade, thrift shop, play board games and be outside as much as I can. My greatest strength is my parallel parking abilities and my greatest weakness is sleeping through alarms. Looking forward to a great semester!! What I love about chemistry: I love Organic Chemistry because you are learning thought processes. It is not necessarily memorization, it is learning how and why things happen the way they do and this keeps things interesting when solving problems. What advice would you give new students? Ensure that you have a balance of both independent study and group study. Independent study is essential for identifying personal weaknesses early on and addressing them. It is also important to stay fully engaged during lecture and discussion and start your organizational notebooks early on in the unit too keep your topics and thoughts organized. Lastly, utilize your TA's as much as possible! Talk through problems, ask questions and get as much criticism as you can to maximize success. |
Victoria Chiou
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Major: Chemistry What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Exciting Hobbies/fun facts: Things I do often are listening to music, going on walks, and hanging out with friends. What I love about chemistry: I love that chemistry always challenges me to do my best while still enjoying the process of learning. I also like learning about the mechanisms and details in chemistry; it helps me understand the bigger picture and apply it to other fields of studies. Advice to students: I would recommend attending office hours held by the TAs and the professor for additional help, and don't be afraid to make mistakes or ask questions! I would recommend pre-reading and reviewing materials throughout the week, little bits at a time so you aren't overwhelmed, and doing as many practice problems as you can. Good luck! |
Tom Christensen |
Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Animated Hobbies/fun facts: I go for runs every day in downtown Salt Lake and I have usually willpower strong enough to pass the Cheesecake Factory without even buying a slice. What I love about chemistry: I love that the world can be described through the lens of chemistry. Take what you learn here and apply it anywhere. Advice to students: Remember what you don't remember! I know that sounds a bit pretentious, but I mean it! You'll come to realize very quickly in this class that some things make sense to you, and other things just don't. At first, I was the kind of student to ignore what I didn't understand and pray it wouldn't show up on the test. Heads up - somehow, that stuff always shows up on the tests. So here's my advice; make a list of "difficult topics". Instead of ignoring them, write them down! Include compounds you can't remember, mechanism that are vague, values you struggle with, etc. You know very well what you know very well. Make a progressive pre-organizational notebook so that you can remember what you don't remember. |
Jamie Covington
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Major: Biochemistry What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited Hobbies/fun facts: My hobbies include hiking, reading, and fossil hunting. What I love about chemistry: I love chemistry because I see it as a fun puzzle. It involves lots of problem solving and application of concepts which I enjoy. Advice to students: Please ask for help as soon as you feel like you are struggling to prevent getting further behind. |
Nick Davis
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited Hobbies/fun facts: I play and coach beach volleyball. I love to ski and enjoy spending time in the outdoors. What I love about chemistry: I love that chemistry can apply to so many different aspects of our lives. Especially organic chemistry, I felt that it helped me to understand certain processes that are occurring both in our bodies and in labs which are producing products that we use in our every day life. Advice to students: I would advise the new students to give organic chemistry a fair shot and to take the time to learn it. I personally didn't like general chemistry and really struggled with it. When I put the time into organic chemistry, I found it to be fun and exciting. I would also advise them to not give up because eventually the content will all come together! |
Gabi Desjardins
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Major: Chemistry What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Thankful Hobbies/fun facts: I love running, hiking, reading, watching anime, sleeping, playing with my dog and cat, and spending time with family. What I love about chemistry: I love the friends, the Professors, the students, the TA's, the LAs, the content‚ all of it. Advice to students: The absolutely most important thing you can do during this course is make time for the things that you love. Every minute is precious, so take it all in. P.S. we will be rooting for you, so never give up! It WILL be challenging, but that is what makes it worth it. You can do this! |
Madi Ganelin
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Major: Graduated Spring 2022 in Biology What are your future plans? Currently working at ARUP in the Molecular Genetics lab and loving it! Possibly returning to school to become an Embryologist in the future Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited! Hobbies/fun facts: I have a twin brother, I have a black cat who is insane but she's my bff, and I like to do my nails, journal, yoga, and bake sweets and bread. What I love about chemistry: **specifically ochem** I love that it is a visual learning experience. It is different from any other subject I have learned in school and it is so much fun if you put in effort. We get to draw lots of hexagons which is fun!! Advice to students: Be patient with yourself. this is a wonderful class in which you will learn so much if you put in the work. Everyone learns at a different pace, use your TAs as a resource to help you!! Office hours and discussions were my best tools for succeeding in this class. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and you will grow as a learner! Also be kind to yourself!!
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Poi Gilmore
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Amazed Hobbies/fun facts: Personally, nothing beats spending time with my family or trying/learning new things. You can often find me at Momentum climbing gyms, in a kayak, at Brighton ski resort, or with a book in hand. What I love about chemistry: I like how chemistry encourages your curiosity and has real life applications that are super interesting. It helps you understand the world around you. Concepts in chemistry also build on each other, so once the dots connect, everything falls into place and things start to make sense. What advice would you give new students? You are capable of learning and excelling at Organic Chemistry; take that to heart. However difficult at times it may seem, remember that learning is our objective here. Learning is hard, messy, uncomfortable, and challenging. But remember, you are not alone! Take advantage of the resources provided in this course: office hours, Saturday reviews, discussion, practice exams...etc. Most of all - don't give up. We all struggle to learn new things. If in the moments of discomfort in this class you are willing to push just a little father, study a little longer, and utilize the resources you have available in this course, you will be successful: YOU WILL LEARN. |
Angelina Ho |
Major: Psychology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Challenged Hobbies/fun facts: I love fashion and I like to rock climb! What I love about chemistry: I love how it challenges me more than any other subject! But I also love how it ended up being fun! You get to do really cool things in the lab and everything is super applicable to real life! What advice would you give new students? Don't be afraid to ask for help! We are all here to support you! I was able to succeed because my TAs and Holly would always make an effort to explain concepts in different ways until I could understand them. If you're confused, take initiative in your learning and ask for help! It will really help you feel less overwhelmed and better understand the rest of the concepts! |
Kallie Hoffman
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Puzzle Hobbies/fun facts: I love being outdoors! Hiking, swimming and boating are my favorite things to do outside. What I love about chemistry: I love how there are so many patterns in chemistry. Following the patterns and rules often gets you to the correct answer (be aware of exceptions). What advice would you give new students? Stay on top of the material and study daily. Keep track of what concepts or problems are most difficult for you and practice them often. |
Caden Jangard
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Major: Psychology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Amazed Hobbies/fun facts: I enjoy watching/playing sports such as basketball and baseball. I also love to spend time outdoors hiking, skiing, fishing, and swimming. What I love about chemistry: I love how Organic Chemistry builds upon itself. What you learn in the first couple of weeks of O Chem 1 you will use throughout O Chem 2. It is detailed, intricate, and elegantly connected. What advice would you give new students? Organic Chemistry may seem daunting, but there are a ton of resources put in place to help you be successful. Make sure to do every PDQ and PS, go to TA office hours to ask questions and get help, attend the saturday review and pre-exam review sessions, do the homework every week, and complete the practice exams. You can do this! |
Kyra Lee
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Major: Exercise and Sports Science What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Creative Hobbies/fun facts: Outside of my time being a pre-med kiddo, I love to spend time outdoors and with the people I love! I am a big rock climber and love to climb both inside and outside. I also have been skiing since I was 3 years old and love to get up into the canyons to ski as much as I can during the winter. I enjoy pretty much anything outside- biking, hiking, camping, canyoneering, soccer, etc. The people in my life are really important to me and I spend a lot of my time hanging out with my friends and traveling with them! Some other things I enjoy/ am passionate about include cooking, art, ministry, and teaching. Please ask me about any of these things- I'm so excited to meet you all! What I love about chemistry: I love how Organic Chemistry is very problem-solving based. Many STEM classes can feel like 99% memorization, which is still interesting, but not as fun. I like how O chem is a very visual and creative field of science. There is some basic concept memorization, but once you know the basics, you can be creative with it! Advice to students: Organic Chemistry is one of those classes where it is extremely important to be consistent and diligent in your studies. Everything builds on itself so if you are not understanding foundational concepts, it will be hard to understand new topics. This being said, this class is one of the most well-supported classes I've taken at the U- there are so many resources! Use them! Be good at identifying when you don't understand something! And then come ask one of us in a timely manner! Find what resources are most helpful to you and utilize them fully. Organic Chemistry can seem intimating but I believe that you are not only all very capable of succeeding, but also of having fun while doing so! I encourage you to work hard and believe in yourself! |
Matt Long
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Major: Biochemistry What are your future plans? Either Grad School or Work force Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited Hobbies/fun facts: I love to run and hike, or just be outdoors. I am currently training for a marathon to qualify for Boston. What I love about chemistry: I just love how two extremely dangerous chemicals can come together to create something super tasty. I also just love the predictability you can have from understand how things react. Advice to students: Organic chemistry is what you make of it. Apply yourself and take the time and you will do great, if you don't you will agree with the stigma that Orgo is the hardest class. |
Ashton Jensen
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Fascinating Hobbies/fun facts: Fly fishing, soccer What I love about chemistry: Being able to learn reactions and apply them to different kinds of problems. Advice to students: Work hard and take advantage of the help offered by TAs, make sure you go to discussion and complete the PS’s and PDQs. |
Andrew Mardini |
Major: Psychology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Fun Hobbies/fun facts: I love playing golf and hanging out with my dog. What I love about chemistry: Working with people What advice would you give new students? Ask for help.
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Ryan Park |
Major: Health, Society, and Policy What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Aluminum Hobbies/fun facts: I can clap with one hand! What I love about chemistry: I really enjoy the fact that chemistry courses allow us to think critically and figure out our own solutions rather than simply memorizing facts. This makes it both more interesting and fun as it caters more towards group work! Advice to students: Don't just practice for the sake of practicing. Think critically about the questions ‚ identify the main concepts tested, and figure out how Professor Sebahar could mix things up in an exam to surprise you. Also, take care of yourself and don't be afraid to ask questions :)
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AJ Parker
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Major: Exercise and Sports Science What are your future plans? Medical/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited! Hobbies/fun facts: I love rock climbing, crossword puzzles, making bread, and playing soccer with friends! I also enjoy reading sci-fi books and watching thrillers. What I love about chemistry: I love that you can find patterns in chemistry, and you can solve most problem in ochem by using all of your past knowledge and applying it to new situations. I also really love learning chemistry because it is applicable to everyday life, and it has helped me understand the world around me in a better way. Advice to students: Stay on top of the material and take advantage of office hours and review sessions. Organic chemistry can be a lot of fun if you give yourself the time to appreciate it! |
Grace Porter |
Major: Health, Society and Policy What are your future plans? Dental School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excited Hobbies/fun facts: I love to ski, indoor cycle, and be outside! I have a twin sister and we were both river guides this summer. What I love about chemistry: It allows me to think differently and it is like an art to me. It's always so satisfying when something finally clicks. Advice to students: Give yourself adequate time to learn this material and don't be afraid to ask questions. |
Emily Porter |
Major: Psychology What are your future plans? Dental School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Love Hobbies/fun facts: I was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. I am a raft guide in Stanley, Idaho, during the summers down the Salmon river! I love to ski, hike, camp, and play guitar! I also love pottery. What I love about chemistry: I love that chemistry builds on prior concepts. If you understand the basics, you can exponentially grow your understanding of harder concepts!! I also love that chemistry isn't all memorization. Advice to students: Take a breath! Organic chemistry is so much fun. It may seem daunting at first, but try to change your mindset and get excited that you are about to learn the magic of chemistry. Give yourself time to study, do the PDQs, and homework by yourself first; so you can figure out what you feel confident about or what you need help understanding. Additionally - if anything is an optional assignment: DO IT! Practice makes perfect. |
Liz Ryan
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Major: Biochemistry What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Delighted Hobbies/fun facts: My dog is named after Buddy in the Christmas movie Elf :-) What I love about chemistry: There is so many different and correct ways to come to the right answer! It allows people to think a bit more creatively than some of the other sciences! Advice to students: Never be afraid to ask questions and use the resources given to you! It can be so super scary to ask questions, but remember the teaching team is here to support you! Take everything one bit at a time, and try your best not get overwhelmed! Practice as much as you can! |
Tala Shihab
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Major: Exercise and Sports Science What are your future plans? Dental School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Excitement Hobbies/fun facts: I absolutely love to craft! Anything from embroidery, crochet, jewelry making, sewing, etc. you will find me doing. I also love to travel, write, and cook! What I love about chemistry: I love the excitement you get when the material finally starts to make sense. Chemistry is exciting as there is always so much to learn and room to challenge yourself! What advice would you give new students? Some advice I would give is to not be intimidated if you don't know the answer! Allow yourself time to contemplate if you're stuck on a problem, it's very likely you know how to solve the problem but you just need to see it from another angle. Take advantage of every single extra credit opportunity, you never know when that one point can make the difference at the end of the semester. Don't be afraid to ask questions and approaching TAs and Professor Holly as our priority is helping you understand the material and succeed!
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Maggie Simmons
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Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Collaborative Hobbies/fun facts: I do pottery and if I didn't want to go to medical school I would be a graphic designer or wedding planner! What I love about chemistry: There are so many things to love! Specifically, how satisfying it is to find the solution to a problem, the fact that we can apply what we learn to understand more about the world, and the common struggle it creates that helps students to bond. Advice to students: Find a study group and work through problem sets and PDQs with them! Also, find a TA whose style makes sense to you and stick with them throughout the semester. Always ask questions early, and keep a list of questions you have during lectures so you can get them answered by Holly or a TA! |
Tara Tazehabadi |
Major: Biology What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Love! Hobbies/fun facts: I love crafting, sketching, doodling, crocheting and anything else artsy! I've also gotten into coding recently so that's been very interesting! What I love about chemistry: I love chemistry because it allows you to answer any complex problem using the basic concepts. I also love it because everything is like a puzzle and it feels amazing when you get to solve it! Advice to students: Work hard at the beginning to really understand the basics. Everything just builds on the foundation so if you feel like you're falling behind, ASK FOR HELP! Once OChem starts to make sense everything else will just flow right in so trust in the process :) |
Ashley Thomson |
Major: Exercise and Sports Science What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Captivating Hobbies/fun facts: I love anything outdoors! Some of my favorite outdoor hobbies are mountain biking, rock climbing, snowboarding, and boating. What I love about chemistry: I love how chemistry is so broad and diverse! There is so much to learn that I genuinely feel like there's something enjoyable in chemistry for everybody! You can dislike general chemistry but absolutely love organic chemistry! Advice to students: Give organic chemistry your all at the beginning! Come prepared to lecture by doing the pre-lecture readings, work out the entire discussion worksheet, do the PDQ on your own first, then compare with friends, etc. Being confident in the beginning material will make organic chemistry way more achievable and fun when the semester starts to get crazy busy!! |
Emi Wickens
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Major: Health Promotion and Policy What are your future plans? Medical school/PA School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Exhilerated Hobbies/fun facts: I love to ski and hike and I just started getting into mountain biking so I am really excited about that! What I love about chemistry: I love that chemistry makes up everything around us. Once you learn about the functional groups and how they behave in organic chemistry, you are able to predict almost any chemical reaction, and that is so cool to me. Advice to students: Don't get discouraged easily. Try to keep working past feelings of stress and panic because organic chemistry takes time to learn. Doing lots of practice problems and understanding why you get them right or wrong is really helpful in strengthening your knowledge of O Chem. |
Eunjae (Amelia) Yoo
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Major: International Studies What are your future plans? Pharmacy School Which one word describes how you feel about organic chemistry? Fun!! Hobbies/fun facts:
What I love about chemistry: I love that solving problems feels like a puzzle! Advice to students: Do lots of practice problems, and ask for help if you need it. Go to lots of office hours!
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