Every summer, the Children’s Science Center Lab hosts a summer internship program. While the Lab remains closed to in-person guests due to COVID-19, nine high school students joined the program which included huge changes to their roles and responsibilities. This resilient group instead participated in weekly professional development sessions, learned quality assurance, and developed new skills needed to support our virtual camps while adapting to a complicated and changing environment.
(Pictured left to right: Justine Chu, Sitara Soeb, Nouran Alim, Nikitha Yemisetty, Dhanush Banka, Maria McDonald, Ananya Malipeddi. Not Pictured: Hazel Vineet, Tiffany Tran)
What did you enjoy the most about interning this summer?
My favorite part of interning this summer was seeing the positive effect all our efforts had on the community. I loved the feedback we got from our virtual campers, and I enjoyed working knowing that what I was doing could make someone else very happy. -- Maria
I enjoyed experiencing a new work experience as many things have changed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although I did enter the internship with a different expectation of how it would be like, I was not disappointed in that there was always something to do to help the organization. I also developed many new friendships with my peers that share the same interests as me, which is to become more involved and active in the scientific community. -- Tiffany
As an intern this summer for the Children's Science Center, I most enjoyed working with others who I share similar interests with. I liked being part of a team that is working to help many people during the pandemic by offering their services to keep children interested in STEM and learning. I also enjoyed being able to learn valuable skills in the workplace through my intern experience while being able to help others. -- Justine
What Scientist do you admire the most and why?
The scientist I admire the most is Gerty Cori, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology. She worked with her husband, and this work led to the discovery that an enzyme deficiency could be responsible for metabolism disorders. Over her lifetime, Gerty won several other awards in recognition for her contributions to science and earned honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Boston University, Smith College, Yale, Columbia, and Rochester. She inspires me because she accomplished so much, regardless of her gender. -- Sitara
The scientist I most admire is Rosalind Franklin, because she made such an integral discovery that furthered our understanding of DNA. She was brilliant, yet was never recognized for her important accomplishments. -- Nikitha
Marie Curie is a scientist I really admire because of her work with radioactive elements. Additionally, another thing I admire about Curie is that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in two different sciences. -- Ananya
What is one scientific question you would like answered in your lifetime?
Is it possible to reverse and permanently prevent climate change, and if possible, how long would that take? -- Nikitha
I think it would be "how does consciousness emerge from the human brain?" Even though it is something that scientists have labeled as unknown, I want to contribute to finding the answer. I just really find the human brain to be an fascinating, yet mysterious topic to study as there are so much not known about it. Because I want to possibly enter medical research in the future, I think the answer may be in my reach in the future with more information and technology being available to me. -- Tiffany
Does life exist on other planets? -- Maria, Sitara, Ananya
We wish all of the interns and all students best of luck this school year!
