About

The Chemistry Graduate Student Association of NC State (CGSA) has the goal of establishing and deepening relationships with: the department of Chemistry, graduate students from additional departments, the local community, and the thriving chemistry community in the state.

2025-2026 CGSA Board

Officers

• President – Karlee McKinney (She/Her)
• Vice President – Kristy Witte (She/Her)
• Treasurer – Katrina McCarter
• Secretary – Cassidy Oliverio (She/Her)
• GSA Representative – Azka Arshad (She/Her)
• Advisor – Catherine Lull

Standing Committee Chairs

• Outreach – Fontaine McFeaters and Katie Rose (She/Her)
• Social Events – Varsha Verma (She/Her)
• Professional Development – Megan Pike (She/Her)
• Advocacy – Emily Piner (She/Her)
• Safety – Rielly Harrison (She/Her)

Coordinators

• CGSA Newsletter Editor – Ethan Eakins (He/Him)
• Website Manager – Hank Schmidt (He/Him)
• Social Media Coordinator – (Empty Position)
• International Student Liaison – (Empty Position)
• Grad Lounge Coordinator – (Empty Position)

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National Chemistry Week

National Chemistry Week, organized annually by the American Chemical Society (ACS), has been celebrated since 1986. Its mission is to promote public awareness of chemistry, especially among K-12 students, by making science engaging and accessible through hands-on learning and community outreach. It is our biggest outreach event of the year!

Event Info

We wish to engage our department by hosting social events and fundraisers and to establish connections with graduate students of various departments by collaborating and volunteering. By partnering with local schools to spark interest in science, we will serve the community with service and education. Moreover, we strive to create professional relationships with the local industry by providing networking events to promote our students and NC State.

Contact any of the CGSA officers for more information.

CGSA Newsletter

The CGSA newsletter aims to highlight the accomplishments, life milestones, thoughts and stories from the hearts of our very own chemistry graduate students. Anyone is welcome to submit a tip or suggestion for our Editor to write about!

Submit a Tip or Story

View Issue 3: Feb 2026

View Issue 2: Aug 2024

View Issue 1: May 2023

Monthly Safety Minute

A brand new initiative by the safety committee! The monthly safety minute aims to raise awareness about proper lab procedures to ensure everyone’s safety while conducting research. Every month, certain safety procedures will be highlighted in order to refresh everyone’s memories on how to properly conduct research.

Submit a Topic

View Issue 1: Feb 2026

There is now a CGSA Discord!

The Discord server is open to all chemistry graduate students, postdocs, and alumni from the NC State Chemistry Department. We use it to stay connected within the department and also to pass on knowledge from generations of grad students. Reach out to either of our current Discord moderators for an invitation: Hank Schmidt (whschmi2@ncsu.edu) and Patrick Hogsed (pbhogsed@ncsu.edu). You can also reach out to any CGSA officer for the invitation too!

Quick Links for nc state chemistry graduate students

CGSA Events Calendar

You can download our most current calendar here and stay up to date on upcoming CGSA meetings, tailgates, scavenger hunts, volunteer opportunities, etc!

See All Upcoming CGSA Events

Anonymous Requests

If you do not feel comfortable approaching the CGSA board directly with your requests or concerns, please use this request form to maintain your anonymity.

Submit an Anonymous Request

Local Volunteer Opportunities

If CGSA can’t help organize it ourselves, we can at least highlight ongoing outreach and other volunteer opportunities in the local community for our chem grads to go through.

Check out Local Volunteer Opportunities