Chemistry Crew Persists Despite Administrative Cuts
Angel Alvarado | March 24, 2026
The Chemistry Crew at Warren Wilson College (WWC) poses for a photo inside one of the college’s science buildings in Swannanoa, N.C. (Yearbook/Echo)
The Chemistry Crew at Warren Wilson College (WWC) works behind the scenes, but is in danger of disappearing.
The crew is responsible for setting up the labs for classes that use the chemistry labs, putting lab equipment away, checking the condition of safety equipment, ensuring there are enough materials for class labs and holding open chemistry tutoring hours.
Nikki Robinson, a junior who has been a part of the Chemistry Crew since her freshman year, shared how her time on the crew has furthered her body of knowledge.
“Since I have been a part of the crew for so long, I’ve gotten the opportunity to be more involved with the lab process and even create impromptu labs when things don’t go as planned,” Robinson said.
Mark Benavides, chemistry lab manager and chemistry crew supervisor at WWC since 2022, expressed their appreciation for his crew’s problem-solving skills in the lab at work.
“What I enjoy most is working with the crew and then trying to get them to figure out how to fix things, or how to make things work, or see if they can solve the problem themselves,” Benavides said. “I try to get them to think through things and figure it out on their own.”
Benavides shared that there would be a new internship program starting next year for students. They would work closely with Benavides, fixing lab equipment, instruments and machines.
“I really like working with students so that I can hopefully get them to learn these new things [that] typically, they wouldn't get anywhere else,” Benavides said. “Not very many places will let a student start poking around a really expensive machine.”
Anika Akram, a sophomore new to the crew, mentioned that the crew had been proposing a workshop for crew members to learn how to use the various instruments within the chemistry labs.
“In the chemistry department, we have the instrumental methods lab, [and] the organic chemistry lab; there's just a bunch of instruments,” Akram said. “We were definitely thinking of doing a workshop for us to learn about those instruments, how to use them, and how to collect data from them. But I think if enough people are interested, it could also be extended to include other students on campus, not just the crew members.”
Despite these developments, Robinson voiced her worries over the future of the Chemistry Crew and the chemistry department as a whole.
“The school no longer offers a chemistry major,” Robinson said. ”I am among the last two in our school, and I am looking to switch crews for my last year. This will leave our crew with only one worker or possibly none. Everyone that I have worked with on the crew was a chemistry major and has since graduated, [that means] we have been seeing fewer and fewer members.”
Robinson said that despite the fate of the chemistry department, she intends to continue chemistry tutoring regardless of which crew she is on.
The Chemistry Crew invites students to apply for the crew, especially if students are interested in figuring out how equipment works or exploring chemical research. The deadline for fall hiring is coming up on April 24. Additionally, the Chemistry Crew encourages students to come to their tutoring hours in the library on Thursday from 7:00-9:00.