VASJ reveals new chemistry lab at Look At Us Now event

VASJ’s newly renovated chemistry lab was revealed at the Look At Us Now event held on August 21, just days before students returned to the school for the 2016-17 school year. Attendees gathered in the school’s gym where Pastor of Our Lady of the Lake, Fr. Joe Fortuna, opened with a prayer and blessed the new lab. 

Also speaking was VASJ President and former Euclid Mayor, Bill Cervenik ’72. Cervenik acknowledged the many donors spanning the last few years who made the chemistry renovation possible. The long list of donors include the Cleveland Catholic Diocese – Rooted in Faith campaign, Lubrizol, the Spotila Family - Sr. Loretta Spotila, CSA ’59, James ’62 and John ’64 as well as over 80 individual donations from Dr. Heide Krebbs ’93, Jamie Myers’76, Dan Doyle ’58, Sarah Zahradnik ‘70, the Welsh Family – in Honor of their mother and last but not least, Tom ’66 and Ken ‘64 Prince. 

The project began with phase one taking place two years ago when the school received a grant from the Lubrizol Foundation as well as donations from numerous alums. That phase included new perimeter cabinetry, a new ceiling, new fume head, new sinks, bulletin boards and improved lighting as well as several safety features including new eyewash stations and safety showers.

Phase two of the project couldn’t begin until all funds were raised, as it required a complete overhaul of the lab. With funds from a second Lubrizol grant as well as a $50,000 grant from the Diocese of Cleveland’s Rooted in Faith campaign, the project was about halfway to realizing its goal when the Spotila family (Sr. Loretta Spotila, CSA ’59, James ’62 and John ’64) announced their donation challenge.

The challenge was met and the family’s generosity resulted in over 80 other individual donations being made to the school for this project. 

VASJ Science Chair Melissa Grai explains that the new workstations will allow more time to be spent on curriculum instruction and less time collecting and cleaning materials and will be equipped with larger surface space with room for more advanced experiments and demonstrations.

“They will model what students should expect to see in college labs and in the business world,” Grai says.

The renovation will also allow VASJ to reorganize the layout of the lab to include a teacher workstation more centrally located in the room to enhance learning and understanding.

“The new layout will allow me to enrich the lessons by giving more engaging demonstrations and explaining the labs more fully while the students have the materials in front of them,” Grai adds.

With much emphasis placed on STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and math), it is Grai’s hope that a new lab will inspire students to spend more time in the lab and get them excited about science.

“I want to see excitement in their eyes and hear them say, 'This is a place I want to be,'” Grai says.

The Look At Us Now event also highlighted other improvements throughout the school including the new Veterans Memorial monument in the school's courtyard, the Student Resource Center (formerly the library), and even new school buses. 

View more photos from the event here.