· Year & Major(s): Junior, Chemical Engineering

· OChem Advice: Do a lot of practice problems and master synthesis.

· Fave Reaction: Fischer Esterification

· Outside the Classroom: Baking

· Year & Major(s): Senior, Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering

· OChem Advice: If you understand how electrons move, you can replicate most reaction.

· Fave Reaction: Pyridinium Chlorochromate (PCC) Oxidation

· Outside the Classroom: Going out on fun excursions with my friends.

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Chemical Engineering

· OChem Advice: Lots and lots of practice will go a long way

· Fave Reaction: Baeyer-Villiger oxidation

· Outside the Classroom: I love to play old flash games.

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Biochemistry

· OChem Advice: I think Ochem is a course that relies heavily on spatial recognition which is part of the general pattern recognition that can be improved through enough time. Do not wait until the night before the exam to start studying because it takes time for your brain to recognize the patterns and process them. When I took the class, I always studied at least 3-7 days before my exams, and it work out for me.

· Fave Reaction: Acid-base reactions

· Outside the Classroom: I play different kinds of sports: basketball, tennis, baseball, you name it. I also run a lot as I am training for a half-marathon next year.

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Chemical Engineering

· OChem Advice: Don’t learn the mechanisms, understand them..

· Fave Reaction: Knoevenagel Condensation

· Outside the Classroom: I enjoy bouldering

· Year & Major(s): Senior, Chemistry (English minor)

· OChem Advice: Don't try to memorize reactions! If you can understand the logic behind reaction mechanisms, the class becomes A LOT easier.

· Fave Reaction: Friedel-Crafts Alkylation

· Outside the Classroom: I’m left-handed!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Biomedical Engineering(Pre-med)

· OChem Advice: In addition to attending office hours, do a few practice problems each day to keep reactions fresh in your mind and practice understanding the patterns.

· Fave Reaction: Robinson Annulation (allylic halogenation with NBS for OChem I)

· Outside the Classroom: I love to play the piano and have been playing for the last 15 years.

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Biochemistry

· OChem Advice: Take it slow and get the basics down.

· Fave Reaction: Anything that has 1,2- hydrogen shift, so you can just put "1,2-shift"

· Outside the Classroom: I lifeguard and ice skate :)

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Human Biology (w/ certificate in Food and Society)

· OChem Advice: Go to office hours and find a TA and friends who help you learn!

· Fave Reaction: Diels-Alder (ozonolysis for OChem 1)

· Outside the Classroom: I love to bake and embroider!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Psychology

· OChem Advice: If you don't understand something, don't be afraid to ask for help- no question is too small.

· Fave Reaction: Williamson Ether Synthesis

· Outside the Classroom: I have a pen pal in Germany- love snail mail!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Biochemistry

· OChem Advice: I found that skimming the textbook and doing the concept problems that are scattered through the textbook the night before class helped me a lot!

· Fave Reaction: Wittig Reaction

· Outside the Classroom: I'm a rugby player, and I practice concept art and designs in my free time. It's my dream to help work on a videogame one day!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Biology

· OChem Advice: The goal of Ochem is not MEMORIZATION! Try rationalizing WHY things happen.

· Fave Reaction: Robinson Annulation and Radical Addition of HBr to alkenes with peroxide

· Outside the Classroom: One of my hobbies is painting!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Neuroscience (Sociology minor)

· OChem Advice: Try to always understand the conceptual idea (the "why") behind organic chemistry topics.

· Fave Reaction: Chromic Acid Oxidation

· Outside the Classroom: I have a Guinea Pig named "Tiger"

· Year & Major(s): Sophomore, Biology

· OChem Advice: Make a notes sheet of all of the reactions you learn and do as many practice questions as you can!

· Fave Reaction: Diels-Alder Reaction

· Outside the Classroom: My favorite hobby is dancing. I dance with FSA Modern and KDC, and I've had a blast with them!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Chemistry

· OChem Advice: Know your reaction roadmap like the back of your hand!

· Fave Reaction: I particularly enjoy the reaction that uses PCC to convert an alcohol into an aldehyde or a ketone. This reaction proves very useful in OChem 2.

· Outside the Classroom: I spend an exorbitant amount of time drawing cats (and other things) on my iPad.

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Neuroscience

· OChem Advice: Practice, practice, practice! Take advantage of all office hours and review sessions.

· Fave Reaction: Hydroboration Oxidation

· Outside the Classroom: I love to dance and am captain of a national dance team at UT!

· Year & Major(s): Sophomore, Chemical Engineering

· OChem Advice: Review your notes more often than you think cause they're very useful.

· Fave Reaction: Michael reaction

· Outside the Classroom: I boulder (or used to) at the rock wall inside of Gregory. Give it a try and see if you enjoy it. It's fun for any skill level / body strength.

· Year & Major(s): Sophomore, Chemistry

· OChem Advice: Learn to recognize the patterns behind mechanisms rather than try memorizing them all.

· Fave Reaction: Fischer Esterification (from Ochem I- Halohydrin formation)

· Outside the Classroom: Oil painting!

· Year & Major(s): Sophomore, Biochemistry

· OChem Advice: My advice is to be consistent, get your questions answered, and have fun with it!

· Fave Reaction: Diels-Alder Reaction

· Outside the Classroom: I enjoy playing the harp!

· Year & Major(s): Junior, Music Composition and Plan II

· OChem Advice: If you think of the problems as puzzles, solving them becomes fun!

· Fave Reaction: Clemmensen reduction

· Outside the Classroom: Something unique: I play the tower bells.