Our Undergraduate Chemistry Ambassadors have different hobbies, interests, backgrounds, and goals; but one thing they share is a love of chemistry!
Whether you are a current UW-Madison student, already a declared chemistry major, or if you are a prospective UW-Madison student, our Chemistry Ambassadors are here to answer your questions about our chemistry courses from a student perspective. The Ambassadors can give their opinions on course selection, course sequencing, and life as a chemistry major overall! Some examples of questions you may want to ask our ambassadors are: “Do you have any tips for finding a research group?”, “What were your experiences with organic chemistry?”, “Have you taken any chemistry classes over the summer? If so, how did you find the workload?”, “If you’re a double major, how do you find balance in completing all of the courses required?”.
To contact our Ambassadors, please send your questions to: ambassador@chem.wisc.edu. If there is a specific ambassador you have questions for, please state that in your email.
For specific questions regarding major exploration, major declaration, or individual course planning please contact the Chemisty Advisor, Katie McCullough, at: klmccullough@wisc.edu.
Specific questions about chemistry undergraduate research? Don’t hesitate to contact our Chemistry Undergraduate Research Board to learn more!
Interested in becoming an ambassador? Recruitment for the 2024-2025 academic year has already taken place. The positions for the 2025-2026 academic year will begin in March, 2025! Contact the Chemistry Advisor with any questions.
JORDAN BOYSEN
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry
HOMETOWN: Forest Lake, MN
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: CHEM 562, as physical chemistry, and quantum chemistry brough together my two academic passions: chemistry and mathematics. Due to the physical chemistry sequence, I am now planning on pursuing a PhD in physical chemistry.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: Picnic Point.
FUN FACT: I love to hike and rock climb.
JEROME EVANS
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry, Biochemistry, Honors in the Liberal Arts
HOMETOWN: Middleton, WI
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: My favorite chemistry course so far has been CHEM 344 because it gave me a deep understanding of the content we learned in class and made me appreciate chemistry in a new way. All of my lab partners were also super fun and helpful which made the whole thing a great experience.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: The greenhouses in Birge Hall (once you manage to find them).
FUN FACT: I am the president of the climbing club; come check us out!
ALI KUEHN
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry
HOMETOWN: Beaver Dam, WI
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: My favorite chemistry course is definitely inorganic chemistry! It was super interesting to learn about metal complexes since metals aren’t usually talked about in other chemistry classes. Plus, the labs were super fun and had many colorful products!
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: The Microbial Sciences atrium! I love studying there with all the natural light.
FUN FACT: I was a competitive dancer for 10 years!
CHARLIE LENZ
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry
HOMETOWN: Oshkosh, WI
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: My favorite chemistry course has been CHEM 343 because it sparked my interested in organic chemistry and led to my involvement with my current research lab.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: My favorite place on campus is the Lakeshore path out to Picnic Point because I enjoy running along the water.
FUN FACT: I plan on starting medical school after graduation.
Meet our Ambassadors!
SOPHIA MELNYK
YEAR: Junior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry, Honors in the Liberal Arts
HOMETOWN: New Berlin, WI
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: I really enjoyed taking CHEM 329 (Analytical Chemistry). I took this course my freshman year and thought it was a good introduction to learning how to form your own research hypothesis and experiments. This course helped me feel a lot more comfortable in a lab setting, and my previous TA is now my current research mentor.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: Though a bit far from the main campus, I really like visiting the Arboretum. It’s a really beautiful place to run, bike, picnic, and destress.
FUN FACT: I try to spice up my schedule each semester, and so far I’ve taken pilates, ballroom dancing, and two semesters of ballet.
ANA PIETSCH
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry
HOMETOWN: Appleton, WI
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: My favorite chemistry course so far is CHEM 547 – Advanced Organic Chemistry. This was my favorite because of the community it provided, and the instructor, Professor Jennifer Schomaker, was amazing! She made the difficult content of the course incredibly easy to manage, and she made sure we were never short of resources. The course also challenged my critical thinking skills, and we got to analytically propose a synthesis for our final project!
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: My favorite place on campus is the Nicholas Recreation Center where I spend most of my free time. It is a place where I made a lot of friends and I get to do the things I enjoy like lift, pickleball, and run. Plus, the quality of the equipment is amazing!
FUN FACT: I can do three pull ups!
KYLIE PLOUFF
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry, Honors in the Liberal Arts
HOMETOWN: Green Bay, WI
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: CHEM 344 was my favorite course as it allowed me to use what I have learned from CHEM 343 and 345 and apply it in lab. I found the organic mechanisms fascinating and the in lab process was fun. My favorite part was using NMR data to determine the structure of my product.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: My favorite place on campus is Memorial Terrace. I love sitting by the water with friends, food and drink. It makes for a perfect break from the stress of school and work.
FUN FACT: My favorite ice cream is Babcock’s orange custard chocolate chip.
CHASE RADZIEJ
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry, Molecular & Cell Biology
HOMETOWN: Charlotte, NC
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: My favorite chem class is CHEM 575 – Topics in Chemical Biology because it combined my two majors: cell biology and chemistry into a single class. I didn’t know there was an intimate connection between the two fields until I took this class. It also had a large focus on reading, understanding, and presenting primary literature which is an invaluable skill when it comes to the sciences, especially since I hope to pursue graduate school.
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: Chemistry Building, no explanation is needed.
FUN FACT: I didn’t like chemistry until I took organic chemistry.
KAITLYN SHI
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR(S): Chemistry, Biochemistry
HOMETOWN: San Francisco, CA
FAVORITE CHEMISTRY COURSE: I really loved taking CHEM 311 – Inorganic Chemistry! The content was vastly different and much more exciting from anything I had seen in my previous chemistry classes, and I loved the beautiful colors of the compounds we made while in lab. I loved learning about the nuances and little quirks of chemistry with metals and how it was completely different from organic chemistry (which I also loved). I thought it was super fun and exciting!
FAVORITE PLACE ON CAMPUS: Chadbourne Residence Hall.
FUN FACT: I do taekwondo and I’m a member of the club here at UW-Madison! If you’re interested in joining, please let me know!