Personal Narrative: My Moments As An Olmsted Science Club Student

I believe that The Helix Summer Science Institute is not solely an enriching academic experience, but also a social engagement opportunity. I believe that I would make an excellent student at the Helix Summer Science Institute 2016 because, by enhancing my understanding of the practical and theoretical aspects of science, I would be able to integrate this knowledge into my life. This academically rigorous program presents me with the opportunity to acquire methodical, logical and practical skills that are applicable to the real world. I am a very studious, motivated and passionate student, who perseveres in the face of adversity, while always respecting my peers. I embrace diversity, and believe that success is achieved through collaboration. I have a passion for science and public outreach, and I believe that these interests are connected.

As a STEM student in the Biomedical pathway I am constantly introduced to new forms of science every single day, which is certainly a privilege because as a STEM student I am exposed to new ways of learning which aren’t covered in a typical classroom setting. In fact, Science is my favorite subject because it’s a constantly evolving subject that is responsible for the fluidity of earths processes. Moreover, my interest to increase my knowledge base leads to my interest in the Science aspect of the Governor’s Honor Program.

As a SETA member I have participated twice as a workshop presenter for the annual STEM Workshop Conferences, “Expanding Your Horizons,” and the “Latino Youth Leadership Academy.” These conferences entitle grade school students to expose themselves to science workshops; raising awareness of higher education in the STEM field, which is an important advocacy I

I founded Beta Psi Omega, the nation’s first co-ed professional biology fraternity, to address the specific professional needs of non pre-medical students and provide a support system for emerging scientists. My passion for the organization and belief in the grassroots mission of providing support to future scientists has fueled my continued involvement. Driven by my passion to teach and mentor young minds, I created a STEM curriculum for the Beyond These Walls mentorship program in Title I elementary schools. To gain experience in engaging the general population in ethical and psychosocial questions surrounding genomics, I facilitated the exhibit Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code. My advocacy and counseling skills were developed through working with the homeless and disadvantaged populations with Health Leads. Recently, I have tutored four girls in middle school math and science, which has furthered my abilities to adjust my information sharing style to reach their academic

The Student Center for Science Engagement (SCSE) at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), was established in 2008 with the mission to support students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics STEM disciplines with the challenges they face in their academic and career development. Mentoring relationships, critical components of the SCSE’s influence, are fostered by the SCSE’s advisors, mostly Ph.D.-level minority scientists. Accessibility to STEM professionals who reflect the student population has allowed students to envision themselves as scientists. SCSE advisors have systematically implemented holistic advising including but not limited to major and career exploration,

This year felt different. I made real, good friends that I thought would last until at least until high school. They felt like family to me, and talking to them every single day in class was something I never thought would really end so soon. Of course, the world does not revolve around the lives of seventh graders and keeps on going.

The cornerstone of the SCSE, holistic advising, has played a pivotal role in creating and sustaining mentoring relationships with students. Advisors help recruit students into the sciences via STEM class visits at the beginning of each semester and through holistic advising, including coaching in academic, career and professional development. SCSE staff focus on providing workshops aimed at increasing student professional development, including the importance of networking, a tool that many minority students are unfamiliar with (Stolle-McAllister, 2011). Additionally, relationships between advisors and faculty have enabled a multi-layered approach in intervention with struggling students. The collaborative nature of relationships between instructors and advisors has also created a network in which students can learn of opportunities in STEM, such as undergraduate research opportunities that advance their professional development. SCSE advisors also provide assistance with resume building and writing statements of purpose, and provide guidance throughout the application process for graduate education. Since its inception, the SCSE has had a specific focus on interactive, student-centered engagement strategies. In this paper we present the Student Center for Science Engagement as a model

Before I came to the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, my world was small. I had never been exposed to the multiple STEM opportunities such as science fair, research, or university professors. I realized how fortunate I was to have such resources, and want to expose more young students to them. There are many underprivileged students in Denton ISD who don’t have access to STEM programs. I helped bridge this gap of educational opportunity by becoming a mentor for Aspire Mentorship, a program that promotes research among younger students to inspire them in the STEM fields. I mentored two middle school girls, a 7th and an 8th grader, through a research project from brainstorming ideas to conducting data analysis to their final presentation at the Fort Worth Regional Science and Engineering Fair.

Throughout high school, I always took more challenging courses, such as advanced placement chemistry. When our class took the Chemistry Olympiad Test I had the third highest score in the class and later passed the AP test which earned me college credits. I also took college night course to give me a head start in college. I was a member of The National Honor Society. When I graduated with honors from Oak Hill High School in 2015, I was in the top 10 percent of my class. Currently, I have, or taking now, upper-level classes such as statistics 211 and English 305. Since I am a student athlete I always strive to push myself to be better, both physically and academically. I am very involved in WVU Tech Biology Club, so I volunteer frequently. Recently,

I hope the year has been interesting for you so far at Westinghouse. As for me, I am 9th week in of my semester. To be honest, the classes at USC are extremely difficult. I found myself studying over 10 hours a day, but the work has paid off for most of my classes. I am really struggling in writing and biology. USC's writing standards is so different from than the typical "high school's five paragraph essay". I feel extremely motivated nowadays, maybe it was the change of scenery. I still remember when we talked few months ago, I seemed to be a bit unmotivated with life. That has all change :).

As a seventh grader, I was extremely timid towards participating in class discussions or activities, and I would never seek help due to my incapacitating fear of judgement. I worried my teachers and peers would view me as unintelligent or incapable because I did not understand the information we were learning. This fear of judgement eventually transferred into my social life, and I became submissive and felt inclined to do whatever my peers instructed me to. For example, I would willingly help someone with a project or homework despite the fact that my own grades may suffer by doing so. This willingness to place the needs and wellbeing of my peers above my own ultimately led me to emotional and physical exasperation. I began to isolate myself

In the 8th grade there were two teacher that gave me a good experience at Stanford Middle School. This time it wasn’t math it was english. My teacher name was Mrs.Rooney. She made up slangs and songs. I remembered one time we even acted out one of shakespeare's plays. It helped me understand it better than just reading it. We had debates about topics so we could understand it better. We read a book and we answer questions on it every few chapters. It actually made me read the book when I didn’t want to. She made me want to do a lot of things I never thought of doing. Another teacher was Mr. Faulkner he taught science. Even though the class was not easy he prepared us for high school. We did research papers. When we presented power points we

STEM Academy, a club founded by myself and two other students in sophomore year, was also a major influence in my academic and personal life. Growing from just 30 to 120 elementary students, STEM Academy was a club that let me raise awareness about the lack of girls in STEM fields. With the opportunity of working with the volunteers and various adults, I have gained essential leadership skills to work great in groups and lead fellow classmates to success.

I can think of few situations that are more frustrating than working with a group of people who are apathetic about the quality of work that they produce. I’m the type of person who tries to do my absolute best at everything I do but in my tenth grade chemistry class I was assigned to work with a group of my classmates who were the exact opposite of me. I quickly caught onto the kind of students that they were and I knew that when it came to labs, I would be the one doing most, if not all the work. We would always get good scores on our labs since I did most of the work but I felt a bit guilty because when it came to tests it was evident that my group mates didn’t know what to do. I was willing to help them but they never asked me to explain

As a lost freshman going to a new school, Physics Club became my home. I looked forward to going to room 144 after school on Wednesdays, where Mrs. Coyle always made us feel welcome and created a comfortable environment where we could discuss the engineering theme of the year. At the end of one meeting, she talked about the science research program at our school and asked if any of the freshmen were interested in applying. Mrs. Coyle urged us to try, as it was an opportunity that not many students had and I’m glad she did.