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 Lee Ann Sperling |
While it might sound like the makings of a new spin-off of the highly popular television show, it's not CSI-McCook -- it's real life for McCook Community College students. Admittedly, they are inspired by the latest television trends popularizing science (and now math) through dramas like Crime Scene Investigators, Trauma: Life in the E. R., Forensic Files and the new crime-drama Numb3rs.
MCC officials are pleased with the increased exposure -- and the increased interest -- television is giving the sciences and consequently the MCC science curriculum. With major equipment purchases over the past 10 years, and the recent addition of a new instrument room, MCC's science faculty are helping students like LeeAnn Sperling and Monica Horkey achieve their dreams of becoming real life forensic pathologists and emergency room staffers.
 Monica Horkey |
"We can offer the science classes required in the areas of nursing, pharmacy, pre-veterinary, pre-med, dentistry and engineering," said Jim Garretson, who teaches chemistry, physical science and physics at McCook Community College.
The crowning jewel in the science offerings is the second-year organic chemistry class where students work in the recently remodeled instrument room equipped with a gas chromatograph and computerized integrator ($3,000 piece of equipment), a digital refractometer ($1,000) and the infrared spectrophometer (a $10,000 purchase).
It's vital equipment that third-year sophomore LeeAnn Sperling needs to prepare her for a career in forensics. Last May she received her Associate of Sciences from MCC, and was looking to transfer to the University of New Haven in West Haven, Conn. She visited that campus last spring and could have transferred in the fall, but when she looked at the required classes, she realized she could take those same classes and receive the same credits at MCC -- for a fraction of the cost and with a lot more individualized instruction.
She returned to campus this past fall and again this spring to take 15 hours credit in physics, calculus, organic chemistry and calculus-based physics supplement.
LeeAnn plans to get her bachelor's degree in chemistry and forensic science and would like to go on to medical school and go into forensic pathology, where she wants to perform autopsies. She admits, television hooked her on the study of forensics.
"I think from the time I was in seventh grade and saw television shows dealing with forensic sciences and autopsies, this is what I've wanted to do. I admit I'm hooked on CSI, and the forensic shows," she said.
While attending high school at St. Paul, she pursued admission into the Navy where she wanted to attend medical school. When that didn't work out, she decided to attend MCC, where she received a scholarship to play basketball and has been active in MCC's theatre productions as well as Phi Theta Kappa.
"I'm really happy with the choice I made, because it gave me a solid start and it gave me the chance to look around and find something that suited me," LeeAnn said.
Like her lab partner, McCook High School graduate Monica Horkey enjoys the CSI programs, but she prefers the Learning Channel's Trauma: Life in the E.R., because that's where she received her first glimpse of an emergency room.
"I had no idea what happened in a real emergency room, and probably wouldn't have if I hadn't watched the show," Monica said. She became so interested in high school that when she turned 16, she decided to become an Emergency Medical Technician and started volunteering with the McCook Volunteer Fire Department.
"You can't take the test until you're 18, and at that point I didn't do so well, but I'm back taking EMT classes again with my regular college schedule," she said. In the meantime she's gaining valuable experience with the volunteer fire department.
"They have been great, I'm not a very big person and they try and put me in jobs that I can handle," she said.
The real eye-opener came when she was able to accompany EMTs on emergency calls. While she admits she was nervous at first, the experience just reinforced that a career in the medical field is what she wanted. As she completes her work in organic chemistry, she has a new appreciation for understanding chemical effects as it pertains to medicine.
She's a sophomore at MCC, is active in Phi Theta Kappa, is the Advertising Manager and a featured artist in Campus Café' -- the MCC webzine. She's scheduled to graduate this spring and will transfer to Kearney, and on to medical school where she wants to become a Physician's Assistant. She said the organic chemistry classes have been valuable to her.
Garretson said MCC revitalized it's science program over the past 10 years by converting from macro-scale chemistry to micro-scale chemistry. The conversion helped reduce the amount of pollutants and the amount of chemical waste generated in class as well as increasing the safety factor.
"I'd say it cut down our chemical costs by 80 to 90 percent," Garretson said.
In addition, it allowed officials to gradually add the equipment that gives students a better hands-on approach to the techniques and equipment they will see in their chosen fields. This includes equipment like:
A gas chromatograph: which boils and separates compounds to identify the relative percent compositions of liquid or gas samples. The results are printed out on a computerized integrator.
Digital refractometer: helps students calculate the index of refraction of liquid samples. It is commonly used by gemologists on solids. MCC lab students synthesize compounds and use the digital refractometer to check purity of what they have made.
Infra-red Spectrophometer: Scans liquids and solid samples and shoots infra-red light through the sample. Since chemical bonds absorb the light at different wavelengths the areas of absorption can help identify compounds. The infra-red Spectrophometer is computer driven with results exported to a laboratory printer.
Garretson is pleased that the upgrades have better targeted the overall demands that science students will need -- particularly at the upper level classes like the second year organic chemistry class.
This spring, he plans to begin implementing some new computer equipment in the general chemistry classes. The Physics and Chemistry Department received six new laptops and probes that will give students exposure to computerized-data acquisition techniques.
"I love the chemistry program here at MCC," LeeAnn said -- while she waits for 1-bromobutane to react with magnesium to make a Grignard reagent. "The classes are small, and while waiting for something to boil or heat, I can bug Mr. Garretson about something I saw on CSI or ask him about a new technique I read about. To me you get a lot more out of these types of classes and this type of setting."
Monica agrees.
"I really like it because we can stop and ask about things we don't understand and Mr. Garretson knows why we're taking the classes and we can ask him about specific things in our area and there are times when he'll tell me about certain procedures that are more common like in the medical field," she said.
"We're always trying to give students a firm grasp of the procedures and laboratory techniques they'll need to be successful at the next level," Garretson said.
In Barnett Hall, LeeAnn and Monica are duplicating many of the same experiments first performed by Nobel-prize winning chemists. On the MCC campus, they are nearing the end of their chemical training and are poised to follow the next stage of their TV--inspired dreams. Will they make it?
Unravel the mysteries, follow the clues and stay tuned.
