Lucy Bova: How Wandering into the Hotel Bar Made my Conference Experience 10 Times Better
My jaw dropped as we looked down on the exhibition hall. Standing on the floor above, we were able to see the enormous warehouse-like room that was filled with rows and rows of empty boards as far as the eye could see.
“And see those walls all the way at the end? They’re fake. The exhibit hall keeps going!” My professor, Dr. Craig took in my unbelieving face with a knowing grin. It wasn’t her first time at an American Chemical Society national conference, but it was the first time she’s brought her own students to present research and her excitement was contagious.
I had expected the conference center to be big, but seeing it in person and imagining each row full of undergraduates presenting their research made my palms begin to sweat. Tomorrow I would be down there in the inorganic section, with my poster and my wits.
As we made our way back to the hotel, the Atlanta World Congress Center was empty and eerie, in silent anticipation of the thousands of people that would fill it the next day.
My poster session went smoother than expected. At first, I stumbled over my words, but by the third time presenting, I got into a good flow and knew what points would interest people. Everyone who came up to me was so inquisitive and polite, asking me follow-up questions or making suggestions. The biggest thing that struck me was how many international people came up to me. I spoke with scientists from Peru and Guatemala! And don’t tell ACS, but we were even able to sneak my mom in to see me and take a photo.
As it was nearing the end of the session, Dr. Craig stood by me and mentioned how happy she was. She told me that having students present at a national ACS conference is a huge career milestone for professors doing research. It was an emotional moment as she told me that any success that she has is because of me and the other students doing research in her lab.
I couldn’t have felt more opposite. All my success in the lab and why my poster session went so well is because of her being a great mentor. I learned so much from her while doing this project: experimental design, troubleshooting, Excel analysis, and so much inorganic and biochemistry theory. She also took it upon herself to plan the logistics of the entire weekend for JD and me, and even took us on a trip to the Atlanta aquarium. It should be me thanking her, not the other way around!
The poster session was over in the blink of an eye. It was strange that the hours I had spent the past three-ish semesters in lab meticulously micro pipetting 96-well plates, running them in the UV/vis spectrometer, and analyzing the data in Excel had all amounted to this experience. I felt satisfied and prideful as I rolled up my poster into its tube. There had been at least two other students working on this project before me, yet it has never been presented at a national level before. I’m proud that I got to represent Dr. Craig, the other students who contributed to the project, and the Lander chemistry department.
After my poster session, we attended the welcome ceremony and Priestley Award presentation to Jennifer Doudna. Jennifer Doudna developed CRISPR, the cutting-edge gene editing technology that has been used as a successful treatment for sickle-cell disease and has many other applications. CRISPR was developed from the Cas 9 nuclease in the bacteria Streptococcus pyogenes. I was in awe hearing about her career and how she got to where she is now, a Nobel laureate. After the talk, people were lining up across the auditorium to take a photo with her.
I spent the rest of my time at the conference weaving in and out of vendor fairs, symposiums, social hours, poster presentations, and more events with my friend McKenna. McKenna, one of my best friends from home, is also a senior chemistry major, but she goes to school at University of Rochester in New York. Coincidentally, she also attended ACS to present research! I got to meet the graduate student doing research with her and her other chemistry friends. I experienced first-hand how this conference brings friends together! As McKenna and I wandered through the vendor fair and other events, I was surprised by how many people we met! We stopped at many tables to chat and although I got tired trying to explain where Lander was, it was super cool making connections with people from across the country.
The most impressive connection we made was not at the conference, but rather later in the night as we meandered into the hotel lobby bar. I spotted JD, another student from Lander, sitting with a group of older adults. He beckoned to us and one lady in the group offered us drinks. As we got to chatting, McKenna and I quickly realized that we were sitting with American Chemical Society board members.
Just earlier that day I had seen them sitting at the front of the welcome ceremony stage, and now we were casually having a drink! They asked us questions about our research and even offered to introduce us to people the next day. They gossiped and joked with us about the politics of ACS and asked us about our future plans. I was laughing the entire night.
When I got back to my room that night, all the thoughts about me not fitting in with the people at the conference had gone away. The board members may not remember me, but I will always remember how they made me feel welcome, included, and equal. And this was the attitude of everyone I met at ACS. The sense of community and excitement about science was so contagious that I left the conference feeling more confident and empowered. This is not what I had expected from that first day when I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the people there. I am so grateful for the opportunity to attend the ACS conference because of the new perspective I gained on the role of science in the world and how I fit into it.
Lucy Bova is a senior from Charleston. She graduates in spring 2026 with a degree in Chemistry with an emphasis in health science. While at Lander, she was a member of the women’s soccer team, Lander Catholics Association, and conducted independent Chemistry research on metal binding with colorimetric indicators. After graduation, she will return home to attend pharmacy school at the Medical University of South Carolina.