Mines Outreach Sparks STEM Interest in Local High Schools

The idea started simply – a desire to bridge the gap between high school science classes and the STEM university just miles away.

That was three years ago.

Today, Roman Shchepin, Ph.D., South Dakota Mines assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, Biology and Health Sciences, and his graduate students are bringing organic chemistry to life inside classrooms at Rapid City Central High School. Through hands-on, engaging experiments, they are connecting directly with high school students and sparking interest in future STEM pathways.

Shchepin had been looking for outreach opportunities for a while when Central High School chemistry teacher Dylan Blomme stopped by campus to pick up some chemicals. “I was eager to see if we could start some sort of outreach program,” Shchepin said. “I developed some colorful experiments and lectures on organic chemistry topics.”

When Blomme left Central, the collaboration continued and grew thanks to Nicole Renner, who became the organic classes instructor at Central High School. In past years, Shchepin visited the organic chemistry class annually to give a lecture and conduct a demonstration. However, this year, the Mines team spent weeks working alongside high school students on a variety of experiments.

“This extended collaboration allowed students to develop a deeper understanding of the material, particularly in nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of organic substances,” said Renner. “Additionally, students were able to see the distinction between college-level content and their high school coursework, helping them better understand academic expectations beyond high school.”

That was Shchepin’s overarching goal with his program - create a pipeline for high school students to the university. His hope, and the aim of his pending National Science Foundation CAREER award, is that Mines will provide local high school graduates with an excellent education without disrupting their extended family, friends, and community support networks, thereby increasing their degree completion and long-term success.

 “Many students are unaware of the incredible academic and career opportunities available in their own hometown,” Renner said, “Providing them with this exposure is invaluable, as it helps them envision themselves in college-level environments and better prepares them for future educational pathways.”

Shchepin, along with Noah Terkildsen, Mines graduate student of biomedical engineering, and Shelby Solem, graduate student of chemistry, conducted a variety of experiments, including “volcano”, a base formation indicator and traffic light. Solem also developed a short lab procedure, “blue bottle”, which high schoolers performed on their own with Shchepin’s and Solem’s supervision.

“It’s always better to see something done, and especially to get your hands onto it,” said Solem, who remembers a demonstration during high school with a gummy bear reacting with potassium chlorate. “I imagine this gives students a more concrete memory of how science is interesting.”

The experience also opened Solem’s eyes to what it would be like to teach in a K-12 environment. “The more potential directions that I can take when I graduate, the better,” she said. “I enjoy tutoring, so I could see myself potentially being a teacher.”

Terkildsen added that the talks and demonstrations provided real experiences with chemistry beyond what a typical high schooler in South Dakota would normally encounter.

“This expands their horizons as to what they think is reasonably achievable,” he said.

The program culminated this Tuesday, when more than 30 Central High School students stepped into the labs at Mines for a hands-on look at cutting-edge research equipment. Zhengtao Zhu, Ph.D., department head, led the tour and opened students’ eyes to the possibilities that await them at Mines, while Solem and Terkildsen brought science to life by breaking down two powerful techniques for decoding molecular structure: infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

For Shchepin, this is only the beginning. He hopes to expand his outreach program at Central and bring it to other high schools in the greater Western South Dakota.