public List<String> query(String st) {

        List<String> returnList = new ArrayList<>();
        
        //System.out.println("SQL: "+st);
        
        try {
            PreparedStatement statement = conn.prepareStatement(st);
            ResultSet rs = statement.executeQuery();
            if (rs == null) {
                return returnList;
            }
            int columnCount = rs.getMetaData().getColumnCount();
            
            
            while (rs.next()) {
                StringBuilder rowString = new StringBuilder();
                
                for (int i = 1; i <= columnCount; i++) {
                    rowString.append(rs.getString(i));
                    rowString.append(DELIMETER);
                }
                //separates records
                returnList.add(rowString.toString());
            }
            //stuff
            rs.close();
            statement.close();
        } catch (SQLException se) {
            System.err.println("Error querying database: " + se.getMessage());
        }
        return returnList;
    }