satsch0417aGood Morning Dr. York,

On behalf of the Office for Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences (ODASIS) department, I would like to express my sincerest thanks and appreciation to Robert Porcja for his unwavering support and dedication to our high school outreach programs. Over the last three years he has committed himself to heightening our students’ exposure and interest in the sciences by hosting a chemistry lab and demonstration with our students from the New Brunswick public school district. His presentations on the mixing of solutions and determining how strong or weak the resulting solution is, along with the lab conducted illustrating the presence of iron in foods, created a rich and interactive environment for our students. They were especially intrigued by his laboratory demonstrations that displayed the differences in gases and the dry ice finale. He made chemistry concepts that are typically difficult for high school students to relate to not only educationally attainable, but hands-on and entertaining as well. I especially appreciated how he made real-life connections to the chemistry concepts our students are learning within their high school curriculum; he showed them that chemistry exists in all facets of life and that their current studies are relevant in the real world. Attached are a few pictures from this weekend’s lab experience.

The dedication and countless hours of support Bob has given to our students has truly been one of the greatest highlights within our high school programs. The recent lab he hosted with our Saturday Scholars program was yet another testament to not only his brilliance in chemistry, but his commitment to spreading that same passion for the sciences with today’s youth as well. We cannot thank him enough for his wonderful and continuous generosity and support. He has been a wonderful contributor to our students’ learning and has become a constant figure within our programs. It is with great thanks and gratitude that I share this small token of appreciation and thank the Chemistry Department for their endless support to our programs.

With Sincerest Thanks,

Tiffany

Tiffany L. Nesbey

 

Developmental Specialist of High School Programs

Office for Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences

Division of Life Sciences

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

99 Avenue E

Beck Hall, Room 206

Piscataway, NJ 08854

Office: 848-445-3493