"I am fascinated by the details of how the world works, and this is what led to my interest in chemistry. In my work as a naturopathic physician, I used knowledge about the composition and interaction of different compounds on a daily basis. When I decided to shift gears to devote myself to teaching high school in the poorest congressional district in the country, I was instantly drawn to teach chemistry. Sometimes it is hard to feel that I am making a difference, but every now and then a graduated student will return and tell me they have done well in their college chemistry class, thanks to what we studied together. That experience really goes a long way.

When I needed to accumulate a few more chemistry credits for my New York teaching license, I had a very difficult time finding classes to take. It was easy enough to find General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry being offered on evenings or weekends so that I could work around my teaching schedule, but more advanced classes did not seem to be available. For two years I tried to find courses that would satisfy the requirements, to no avail. I was very happy, therefore, to find Oregon State's Ecampus Chemistry program.

I had concerns about online classes because of a bad experience in the past, but after corresponding with Professor Lerner, I was reassured that his Inorganic Chemistry class would be different. I was extremely pleased with the level and quality of instruction provided by Professor Lerner. In his classes, each lecture was available through audio download and the lecture slides were also provided. I found the course to be quite challenging and very interesting. I can honestly say that I see the world differently as a result of this sequence of classes. I ended up taking both CH 411 and CH 412 from Dr. Lerner.

Outside of teaching, I enjoy spending time with my wife Lucia and my cat Pushkin. I play guitar and harmonica and I really like spending time in Central Park."

My vision as a naturopathic doctor is to help people live a positive balanced healthy lifestyle, educate people about their own health, cure ailments, and possibly save a life.

Alexandra has worked very hard to reach her goal; she took the Organic chemistry series online because she was not able to work it into her schedule at USC. But she points out that online Organic chemistry is not easy. Her advice to other students:

"Make sure to stay on top of your work and have good time management skills. Also, get a tutor if you need it because it is one of the hardest undergraduate courses out there. If you are taking the hybrid CH 337 organic chemistry lab class, make sure you complete and do everything the first two weeks that the online class asks you to do, because when you get to the on campus 2 week portion, it is very fast paced, so you definitely have to be prepared!"

When we asked Alexandra how she found OSU’s online chemistry, she mentioned that she found it online, and that OSU’s Organic Chemistry was the only online organic class her medical school would accept. That fact says a lot about our great instructors here at Oregon State! Her school also likes our series because the final class, CH 337, is a hybrid class with 2 weeks of online study, then 2 weeks of on-campus lab work in Corvallis.

Best wishes to Alexandra for her continued success in medical school, and thanks to her for sharing her story.

Naturally, signing up to take rigorous online chemistry courses from Oregon State Extended Campus caused her a brief bit of panic.

“I hadn’t done anything related to math in yeeeaaars,” said White, a Marine Corps and Persian Gulf War veteran who lives in Southern California and is majoring in fisheries and wildlife. “I started off saying, ‘Damn, I have to take chemistry?’

“But chemistry affects so much in the world, and I know it’ll pay off for me in the long run.”

She’s hardly alone in thinking that. Ecampus’ abundant online chemistry offerings equip students from a wide range of science and health-related programs and professions with the necessary skills to further their education and careers.

In cooperation with OSU’s Department of Chemistry, Ecampus offers an online minor in chemistry, as well as four full sequences (General Chemistry for non-science majors and science majors, Organic Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry) and additional upper-level courses.

White earned a master’s degree in anthropology from Cal State-Fullerton in 2008, and she and two other Ecampus students recently shared their insight into the benefits of the OSU online chemistry curriculum.

Joshua Scruggs is an active-duty member of the United States Coast Guard, currently stationed in Portland. Scruggs, 33, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences and, like White, is taking the General Chemistry sequence this term.

And Annette Whitney, in preparation for medical school, completed the Organic Chemistry sequence last year while working as a full-time nurse and raising four young children in Salem with her husband.

All three students hope to do something markedly different than the others with their knowledge of chemistry, but all three will be served by their skills equally as well. Here are their thoughts on a variety of topics:

Whitney, on how Ecampus fit her lifestyle: “The only organic chemistry courses I could find were at least three days a week, plus a lab, which would have made life very, very difficult. I work three 12-hour shifts a week, and unless I wanted to work every weekend I couldn’t have done it. Taking the courses online with OSU made it possible.”

White, on benefiting from the clarity of the curriculum: “The professors make it clear to the students what we need to know and what is expected of us. They let you know which things to consider while reading and going through the materials. That’s great for me because I don’t have to jot down a bunch of definitions and try to work it out in my old mind.”

Scruggs, on finding relevant areas to apply his knowledge: “I worked for a little while with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, reviewing plans for oil-spill response. Knowing the basic concepts of chemistry is invaluable in being able to evaluate information and know how certain materials are going to react in the environment. You can use this information in so many different fields.”

White, on building a reliable support network from hundreds of miles away: “The professors are personable and are really quick at responding to emails and the questions that students ask in the online forum. Everyone is very engaged. I see what other students are asking on the discussion board, and we often answer each other’s questions and offer help when we can.”

Scruggs, on being properly enriched through online instruction: “For a foundation of chemistry concepts, it’s taught very well. The online labs do a great job of simulating the work and teaching you good habits to get into. It lets you make mistakes and doesn’t prohibit you from learning anything. And whenever you make a mistake with homework or somewhere else, there’s a person there to identify that and help you better understand the process.”

Whitney, on having peace of mind thanks to OSU’s reputation: “A big selling point was the fact that OSU is a brick-and-mortar school. It’s not an online college that is a fly-by-night setup where they just pass out degrees and credits. When I apply to med school, the credits coming from OSU will look better than anyplace else online that I could find.”