Stacey Johnson
e-mail: sjohnson@wpcc.edu
Hello! My name is Stacey Johnson. I have been a chemistry instructor here at WPCC since 1991. I am originally from a small town on the west coast of Florida called Port Charlotte. My love of chemistry first started in Mr. Selley’s class at Port Charlotte High School. From there it solidified at Eckerd College – a small liberal arts college in St. Petersburg, Florida. My research experience as an undergraduate included summer research in the isolation of natural products at Georgia Tech, my college senior thesis related to the syntheses of Histrionicotoxins, and a summer internship at Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri.
After earning an American Chemical Society certified Bachelor of Science at Eckerd, I went on to attend graduate school at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. My master degree research was in the field of organometallic chemistry. I’ve been a member of the American Chemical Society for over 25 years. In 2015 I was recognized by the ACS as a Chemistry Ambassador for my participation in their Science Coach program.
As a first generation college graduate, I strongly believe in the power of education to change lives. My interest in teaching began at Eckerd College, where I enjoyed working as a teaching assistant and a tutor in chemistry. I chose to teach at Western Piedmont for two reasons. One, it has small class sizes, which allow for more interaction between faculty and students. Two, the science faculty at WPCC demonstrated a passion for providing a high quality science education.
I continue to strive to be a lifelong learner. I have completed an undergraduate certificate in computer programming from NCSU as well as taken MOOC classes in the history of Jazz music, astronomy, and neuroscience. A few of my hobbies include birding, collecting fountain pens, and crocheting. I’ve also been lucky enough to experience and photograph both an annular and a total eclipse.