Getting freaky: STEM Flavor Fest
Maya Dickerson - News & Opinion Editor
The first annual Freaky Flavor Fest, hosted by the STEM ambassadors, commenced on Wednesday, October 23. They created a flavor-filled festival for their STEM ambassador class, students from biology, biochemistry, physics, neuroscience, and chemistry.
Junior biochemistry major, Carina Engst helped set up the event. “Our class put on this event to encourage community outreach and help other students understand the importance of science and how it affects their daily living,” said Engst. “It is also to increase their awareness and hopefully spark a passion and promote education.”
Students walked around the Mellinger Commons in the Center for Science and Business, trying various foods, some even made by STEM students. Cheese, cupcakes, fizzy lemonade, yogurt, kombucha, and more were available to taste test.
The STEM ambassador class is new at Monmouth this year, and the Freak Flavor Fest is the first event of its kind. Organizers were nervous to see how it would turn out.
“We had a large turnout which was very good. A lot of people seemed very interested about the topics, which were new for a lot of people,” said Engst.
Engst, along with senior Sawyer Day, were at a flavor-changing station.
“We used miracle berries to turn sour into sweet flavors,” said Engst. “It was really entertaining to see people’s reactions when they tried the food and to see them understand how the reaction occurs.”
The STEM ambassador class plasn to do another event this semester, with further outreach into the Monmouth community.