Giselle Reyes on Bachelor of Science in Chemistry
Name: Giselle Reyes
Course Taken: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry
Current Job: College Instructor
Why did you choose the course you took?
I had plenty of questions in my mind when I was in grade school; like why flowers bloom, why the food we eat became turned into something else — things like those.
When I got into high school, I had a lot of fun in our Chemistry subject. I wasn’t that much into lectures and theories, but I definitely enjoyed the laboratory work, so I decided to take BS Chemistry when I got into college.
What do you think is/are the most interesting aspect/s of the course you chose to pursue?
Laboratory work; because it allows you to find answers to the questions lingering in your mind.
What specific skills or activities do you think students should focus on in order to increase their chances of getting a good or stable job in the future?
Critical thinking and analytical skills would help a lot. There’s a lot of laboratory work involved in chemistry, so students need to be good at both remembering theories and applying them in real life. That would be especially true if you’re going to pursue a career in research and development.
Which particular subjects did you learn the most from when you were still in college? Why is that so?
All subjects with plenty of laboratory work. It was fun and interesting because we got to apply the things we learned in our discussions into practice.
What was your most rewarding experience when you were still a student?
When you’re able to solve a problem that was given to you by using the theories and formulas that you were previously taught. For example, you were given an unknown white powder. Using what you have learned in your lessons, you will be asked to determine what that particular powder is. If you have no knowledge of chemistry, that might prove to be a challenge to figure out, but because you were paying attention to your lessons, you were able to solve the problem. That can be a very rewarding experience.
What was the most difficult problem you had to face when you were still a student?
Studying Physical Chemistry. It’s a mixture of Physics, Calculus, and Chemistry, so you’ll probably have an idea of how challenging studying it can be.
What are the things you learned from college that have proven to be very useful in your daily life as a professional?
I think that would be our Analytical Chemistry subject where we analyzed raw materials. We would be given products then we would study their composition, how they were made, and how they measure up against existing standards. I worked in quality control for a big pharmaceutical company for several years, so I was able to utilize the things I learned in school to the fullest.
What advice can you give to incoming college students who are thinking of taking the same course you did?
Take time to think about the course you’re going to take. As much as possible, avoid choosing courses at random. Chemistry is a very interesting and enjoyable field, but it involves a lot of computations and problem solving, so you need to have both the passion and dedication to study it.
