Humans of St. Norbert:

“The Rockline project was really awesome because it gave us a chance to work with this community partner. I had never heard of Rockline Industries before the project started. I learned they manufacture pretty much every household wipe you could think of: Baby wipes, disinfecting wipes, they make all of those. They wanted us to look at the surfactants in their wipes, which is what gives the wipe their antibacterial properties. It’s kind of fitting given today’s situation. I worked on that project over the summer with Dr. Hunnicutt, Bailey Hanson and Dr. Russel. We looked at the chemical structure of the surfactants, tested the antibacterial properties and then we were able to go to Sheboygan, where the big manufacturer is, and present the research to some of the people higher up in the company. It was intimidating, but really cool. We visited Rockline Industries in the fall and we were planning to extend the research to test the surfactants in different pH environments to continue that antibacterial research. We aren’t able to do that since we are no longer on campus.

“For me, like many people, being off campus has been a challenge. I’m still getting adjusted to it. I’m mourning the loss of my last lab classes since I am a senior and I’ll be graduating. A class I was really looking forward to is a lab techniques class that I’m in now. We’ve lost the ability to learn how to do all those lab techniques in-person. We talk about them and go over them. There’s value in that, but I guess the thing that makes me sad, is that I love being in the lab. I’ve learned that recently especially after being in the lab working for the Rockline project. It made me realize, ‘Oh, I can do this. Maybe this is something I’d like to do.’ ”
– Sarah Rolfs ‘20