Every year, the University of Miami offers a CATCH workshop. This workshop teaches vital chemistry, computer science, physics, math, and biochemistry skills that help students learn beyond the classroom. Sofia Rodriguez ‘25 attended this workshop last year. I sat down with her to talk about why expanding your knowledge of different science skills can help enhance your performance in the classroom and assist with decisions towards your career in the future.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
What interested you in doing the CATCH workshop?
It’s one of those classes that really challenged me and got me more into it. I started tutoring in chemistry and doing other things with chemistry. It seemed like the natural next step to do a workshop with it to take it a little further beyond the classroom.
What do you think about doing chemistry with computers rather than test tubes?
There are definitely benefits to it. I mean it saves a lot of time, and it’s going to save even more time the more it advances. It’s especially helpful in research or in the discovery of diseases and new drugs to treat those diseases. I definitely think that it is important to not forget about test tubes and the more basic things as well. That real life handling of chemicals and substances is super important for actually testing out things.
Were you able to see a greater connection between math, chemistry, and physics after this workshop?
Yes, I really was. The professor gave us many lectures in the first few days about physics, chemistry and biology, and we were able to see beyond what we normally learn in a classroom. Whatever I learned here in school, they took it a step further with more complex, college level things. I definitely saw more advanced forms of topics, and the professor talked about how they are all bridged together.
How was your experience in the workshop? Did you enjoy it?
I did enjoy it a lot, yes. There were a lot of different activities and we used many different programs. We used many different applications. For example, one day we got to make our own drug, a website, and a simulation, and we used programs to bring that to life. I had a lot of fun, and I think it was a very good experience-very informative. I think that it’s something more people should look into because those kinds of workshops are really good.
Would you be interested in studying chemistry in the future?
Yes, definitely. I’m not sure if it’s something that I want to go into in college or something that I want to minor in, but I definitely want to keep taking classes for it. I would like to keep exploring it a little further because its applications are really cool.
Would you recommend doing this workshop for other people who might be interested in chemistry?
Yes, like I said before I think it’s important to value those test tubes and to explore those typical things when you think of chemistry. I think it’s important to go a little bit further with technology as well and take advantage of new resources that are emerging. I think it’s a very useful workshop that gives you access to more of that technological side of it and explores some new innovations that are coming out now.
