Michelle Bertke believes that everyone is a “science person,” whether they know it or not.
“I love all things science. I love to learn about science, talk about science and demystify science for everyone who says ‘I’m not a science person’,” said Bertke, a teaching professor in the Department of Chemistry. “Okay, maybe you’re not, but you should be. You live in a world governed by science and you should be aware of it. There’s no room for ‘I’m not a science person.’”
For Bertke, the ability to parse out how the world works through observation and experimentation is thrilling, and sharing that experience with others has been the throughline of her career, from outreach work as a doctoral candidate at Notre Dame to organizing weekly STEM lessons for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington.
Third and fourth-grade students work on a science experiment at the Boys & Girls Club.
When Bertke first arrived on the Hilltop, the chemistry department didn’t have a dedicated outreach coordinator. While many wonderful programs were organized by both faculty and graduate students, there wasn’t a way for the community to reach out in collaboration. Bertke happily took on the mantle of outreach coordinator, a role designed to share hands-on science with the wider Washington, DC community.
Today, Bertke stays busy with various ongoing commitments, including a weekly program at the Boys & Girls Club, a biweekly program with Malcolm X Elementary School and regular on-campus visits to local high school classrooms. Every week, during both the school year and summer, Bertke and a group of Hoyas head up Wisconsin Avenue to the Jelleff Recreation Center, where they lead an hour-long, hands-on program for third and fourth graders.
“There’s a big mix of students at the Boys & Girls Club. Some are very into it and some want to get it done and go back to whatever they’re doing,” said Bertke. “There’s almost always one kid who always wants to go one step further — mix all of these things together, asking questions, pushing beyond the exercise. Those are the best moments, when there are students who are really engaged and want to take it one more step.”
In outreach lessons, Bertke says sometimes it’s the simplest experiments that are the most fun.
“If you’re a science kid, then you’ve probably mixed baking soda and vinegar together a dozen times, but we get to work with kids who may have never done that before,” said Bertke. “It’s awesome because it’s science, it’s fun and it’s a mess, and who doesn’t love a mess?”
For students volunteering with Bertke, the programming gives their inner child an opportunity to come to life.
“Some of the kids are ridiculously funny when analyzing the science experiments we perform,” said Hayden Giles (C’26). “Even though there are complicated elements of our experiments, the kids not only ask diligent and comedic questions about the purpose of the experiment but often offer alternate experimental designs for future labs.”
Giles, a biochemistry major who is pursuing pre-med coursework, plans to continue volunteering with Bertke and the Boys & Girls Club.
“When working with the Boys & Girls Club, there’s an enthusiasm in the air that can evaporate as students get older and move into different learning environments,” said Giles. “I’m looking forward to working with The Boys and Girls Club in the future because seeing how they approach situations with many unknowns gives me insight into how I want to perform research and experiments in my chemistry labs, with enthusiasm and passion.”
Bertke performs an egg drop, the culmination of a weekly lesson.
Bertke discovered her passion for instruction and outreach as a graduate student.
“It didn’t take more than two years into grad school that I realized I didn’t want to do research forever,” said Bertke. “I don’t see myself staying in the lab setting, but I was part of the outreach group at my graduate school. By the time I was done with my Ph.D., I knew that education was the track that I wanted to pursue.”
At Georgetown, Bertke teaches science courses for non-science majors, including Chemistry of the Human Body and Climate Change in the News. Even if student’s won’t pursue research or a career in STEM after they graduate, she believes they should still be equipped with broad scientific knowledge.
“Many of the students in my classroom will go on to become policymakers, businesspeople and leaders in their respective fields,” said Bertke. “Giving those students a firm foundation of science knowledge isn’t just a good idea, it’s essential for their future success.
Away from the Hilltop, Bertke continues to find new ways to explore science education. She founded a STEM outreach company, Science Connections, in 2016, that specializes in crafting hands-on activities and demonstrations for libraries and community centers. Often, Bertke finds that the project she develops in Science Connections serve as useful jumping-off points in her weekly lessons at the Boys & Girls Club.
“There’s a lot of overlap between our outreach work and Science Communications,” said Bertke. “If a faculty member or community group needs a quick activity exploring acidity or engineering then I have a library, which I’ve spent years building, of resources that are accessible to all ages.”
At the heart of her work, Bertke is passionate about helping others discover the same love for science that she had growing up.
“If I can make it easier for someone to understand science then I really want to do that because I’ve already done all the work to understand it myself,” said Bertke. “I want to be able to share that work with people and I want to give people the opportunities to learn and grow.”
Students interested in teaching with Bertke at the Boys & Girls Club and through other outreach opportunities should reach out directly. Photography by Oxana Ware (C’07, G’09).
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