Abstract
The first morning of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) annual conference—which was held entirely online this fall because of COVID-19—organizer Ashley Wallace felt unsure of how the programming would be received. Her committee had been planning the online format since May. Would attendees engage and mingle despite being miles apart, or would the committee’s attempts to foster community online fall flat? The coffee break that morning, organized in a speed-dating-style structure, answered Wallace’s question: people were enjoying their conversations so much, they didn’t want them to end. “We’re doing something good, and people are receptive of what we’ve put together,” said Wallace, an assistant director of education and outreach at the University of Pennsylvania. “I was very excited from that point on. I was just like, ‘Yes! Nothing can go wrong. Everything’s good.’ ” NOBCChE—pronounced “no-buh-shay”—is traditionally a weeklong, in-person event. This
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