Organic Chemistry New to the Priory

Organic Chemistry Comes to Priory

This spring, Priory students will have an opportunity that very few high schoolers ever get: the chance to take a full semester of lab-based Organic Chemistry. Spearheaded by teacher Gabriel Tang, this unique course will be a handson preview of college organic chemistry, with the aim of giving Priory students a leg up when they go to college. The Organic Chemistry class was funded by a generous donation from Ed Oates and Jennifer Hammer.

Organic chemistry, the study and design of carbon-based compounds, is the science behind much medical research, the development of new drugs, the design of new materials, and even the creation of food additives and flavorings.

The wide application of organic chemistry in today’s world means lots of opportunity for those students who can master the subject. But too many find themselves overwhelmed by the rigors of college “O-Chem.” Mr. Tang explains, “There are a few courses in college that will make or break a major.” For most science majors, he explains, that’s Organic Chemistry. “You’ll take it. And you’ll either cry through it or you’ll love it. And a lot of people cry through it.” But after a semester in his new class at Priory, he hopes his students will be firmly in the “love it” category.

Thanks to the generous donation, Tang has been able to buy special equipment and chemicals for the labs he has planned. Some of those experiments include decaffeinating tea, synthesizing aspirin from scratch, making artificial flavors such as pear, apple and spearmint, and creating bioluminescence, the chemical phenomenon behind glow sticks. Priory senior Ellie Oates, who will attend Stanford University next year, for one, is thrilled to get started. “I took AP Chem last year, and organic chemistry was my favorite part,” she says. Her eyes light up as she talks about research chemist Percy Julian, her inspiration and one of the first scientists to synthetically reproduce a naturally occurring compound for use in medications. “I want to be a chemical engineer,” Oates says, “and Mr. Tang is just such a great teacher.”

Ted Tsang, a dormer who’s planning a career in biochemistry or genetics, agrees. “It is going to be awesome,” he says.

For his part, Mr. Tang feels grateful. “I couldn’t do this at another school,” he says. “It’s like John Erkman used to say, ‘It’s such a treat coming here. Instead of having to find ways to cut, here we have the capacity to grow.’ And to really change for the better because we’re lucky enough to have the resources to do that.”

“It’s like John Erkman used to say, ‘It’s such a treat coming here. Instead of having to find ways to cut, here we have the capacity to grow.’ “

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