The APOGEE English Press sat down with Shirsh Jain, the coordinator for the Chemistry Association, to gain insight into their role during the fest.

The coordinator said that the Chemistry Association is a body where students of the chemistry department get together and bond with each other over formal dinners with professors, events, and meetings. He added that they also conduct interactive activities and games for the department professors.

When asked about the events they were conducting during the fest, Shirsh explained that this year, the Chemistry Association would execute their flagship Murder Mystery room; a two-day mystery room starting just after the inauguration ceremony of the fest, where the top ten teams who complete the mystery room get selected to move to the final round. He added that the event has been a success for the past couple of years, gaining over 300 participants last year. Shirsh elaborated on the event, adding that it inculcates chemistry into its questions. The questions are designed to be challenging yet easily solvable by a quick Google search, hence eliminating the dependency on being fluent in chemistry.

When asked about the changes to the events this year, Shirsh mentioned that while they had conducted a stall event last year, they decided to scrap it this year and invest their time and budget in improving the murder mystery rooms. This will be their sole event, with a Squid Game theme.

Speaking of the time commitment before the fest, Shirsh noted that the preparations began in January, marketing the event across the campus. He added that in February, after the midsemester exams, the team worked on developing the clues and the storyline for the rooms. 

Shirsh explained that the coordinator’s workload was quite lenient before the mid-semester exams. He fondly proclaimed that the first and second yearites bond over their ‘chemistry trauma’, further solidifying the unity of the club and making the work sessions pleasant. Shirsh mentioned that while there were a few hardships as a coordinator, due to the uncertainty in receiving a sponsor or not to fund their event as well as the delayed arrival of their inventory, the work had undergone quite a few delays. 

On a final note, he proclaimed that while most first-yearites focus on the professional shows of the fest, they often miss out on the fun events across campus. He stated that with hackathons, case competitions, mystery rooms, and various other events, APOGEE is a platform for students to bond with their wingmates, build new networks, and build memorable experiences. Shirsh encouraged the batch of 2024 to take part in these events to create memories by avoiding going home and instead trying out the random events on campus.