DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A senior at Millikin University is stepping into the lab with a new perspective as she puts on her safety goggles and prepares a lab for new students just starting their journey in the STEM field. 

"I'm doing a project for the general chemistry students and the goal of that is to increase their inquiry and involvement," said Katy Bearden.

Bearden didn't have many chances in high school to get hands on experience in the lab, so now that she is finishing up her college courses, she is taking advantage of every opportunity to get into the lab. She is working hard this semester to create a memorable hands-on experience for students so they can find their own love for chemistry. 

"I didn't have a lot of experience with actual chemistry and dealing with like the instruments so coming in the first year and actually using instruments and making something was pretty cool to me, so I thought it was interesting and they kind of confirmed to me I want to do chemistry." 

The General Chemistry students will be working with a substance called K-Tof, which looks like a green crystal. The lab will take a total of three weeks as the students work with new equipment and technology to determine the crystal's iron and potassium content. 

"I feel like a lot of people are afraid of STEM because they are like 'oh my gosh it's scary,' but it's not. You just have to put the work in know what you are doing and want to do it."

Bearden's best advice is for anyone who is interested in STEM to give it a shot, even if some of the concepts can seem intimidating.

"I think educating people about it and showing people what we do is important because then people are like oh, I want to do that it looks cool." 

She also encourages students to give all areas of STEM a shot so they can find their own passions within the field. 

Copyright 2025. WANDTV. All Rights Reserved.