How to get involved in STEM as a high schooler By Art
As we reach the start of summer, some of you may be wondering how to best use your extra time. If you are a student interested in STEM, you may already have some ideas of what you want to do. Back when I was in high school, I found it extremely difficult to find opportunities in science. Whether you are looking to work in a lab, shadowing adults in your potential future professions, or simply learn more about a topic of interest, this post will help you make decisions to jumpstart your journey in STEM. 1. Planning Out Your Time Every great endeavor requires some degree of careful planning. Your first steps should be to consider and write down what exactly you want to do. Is it to get involved in a research lab? Is it to intern or volunteer in a hospital? Whatever it is you are interested in, write it down and make note of it. Additionally, you should map out your free times and dates. The best experiences are ones you can put your full effort towards; do not try to do too much at once. If you have a job, family obligations, or school work, make sure you understand how much time each of your obligations will take. Plan accordingly. Make sure you have enough time to focus on your STEM experiences.
2. Using Your Resources You have more resources than you know. My first time volunteering in a hospital came because the mother of one of my friends worked there and told me about a program for high schoolers. My first time working in a lab came from a recommendation from one of my teachers. Ask, ask, and ask some more. Do not be afraid to reach out to your immediate social network. Your teachers especially know more than you do about opportunities for high schoolers. Ask them if they know of any open opportunities, making sure to bring up your interests and available times.
3. Doing Your Research Often you will not get your opportunities straight from teachers or friends - and that’s okay. There are several online resources to use should you still be searching for STEM opportunities. Local and affordable high school internships and summer programs can often be found at nearby colleges. For example, UCLA offers a 4 week engineering tech camp for high schoolers. Your best bet is to search local institutions for their various summer programs. Nearby research labs often have summer programs as well. If all else fails, search for your topic of interest, and look for professors in nearby institutions researching said interests. Make a list of professors, and cold email them expressing interest in their lab or research, including a resume of your own. It is certainly difficult to get immersed into STEM while still in high school, but it is completely possible with the right plan. Map out your available times, ask around your social network, and do your own research to get the opportunities you wish. As a person who was in your exact place only a few years ago, I wish you good luck and I hope these tips help you land the STEM-oriented internships or jobs you want.
How to make the most out of summer breaks By Jessica
With all the required classes, extracurricular activities, clinal volunteering and research hours that are needed to be a strong applicant for medical school, it is needless to say that it can be very difficult to balance everything during the academic year. I’ve always heard from people that time is our most precious resource, but only during these past two years in college I realized how true that saying is. It is, therefore, very important to take advantage of the extra time in our hands during Summer breaks as they can provide an excellent time for you to get ahead in your pre-med journey. These are just some ideas for you to consider to make the most out of your summers!
1. Research During the academic year, it can be quite challenging to dedicate yourself extensively to a research lab, especially during midterms and finals season. Summers can be a great time for you to do more meaningful work and really focus on your research. If you already got into a lab during the academic year, you can start your own research projects under the assistance of your PI (Principal Investigator), and you could possibly even produce publications! Otherwise, because a smaller percentage of the student populations remains on campus during this time, there are a lot of research labs who look for undergraduate research volunteers. You should take advantage of this opportunity and start contacting professors to secure a research position.
2. Volunteering Volunteering experiences are extremely valuable and really rewarding. Volunteering can include both clinical and non-clinical volunteering. Look for opportunities in your local hospital as clinical volunteering can provide you with the possibility to interact closely with patients and develop interpersonal skills that are essential in physicians. Additionally, you can easily get involved in community volunteering by looking for opportunities in your own college campus or the surrounding area. Whether it be homelessness, food insecurity or health inequality…, always try to volunteer for causes that you are truly passionate about and think about what kind of impact you want to make. This passion will translate into more meaningful work and more rewarding experiences.
3. Shadow Physicians Shadowing physicians is extremely important in order to understand whether this is truly the path you want to embark on, and it shows the medical schools that you understand what it means to be a physician. You can look into you own network of physicians, such as your family doctor or other doctors that you may know. Otherwise, you can call or email physicians in hospitals and clinics close to you and ask for their availability.
4. Take Summer Courses You can always take advantage of the summer to get ahead in your required classes for medical school. A lot of pre-med students take harder lower division classes such as organic chemistry, physics, and lab requirements during summer sessions as the extra time can enable them to dedicate more time to the class, which can lead to better performances. Additionally, this can decrease the number of classes you need to take during the academic year and allows you to engage in more extracurricular activities.
5. Studying Abroad You should also take advantage of the studying abroad programs offered by your universities. College is a time to get out of your comfort zone and experience cultures that are different from your own. It exposes you to new perspectives and ways of living that help you become a more informed global citizen, and ultimately also a better physician. It would be, in fact, a great opportunity to learn about the different health care systems in place in other countries.
6. Delve into Hobbies and Passions Finally, remember that, while it is wise to take advantage of the summertime to be productive, it is equally important to take care of your own mental and physical health by engaging in purely fun and non-medical related activities. Summer breaks are a fantastic time for you to continue past hobbies or explore new passions! Pick up a new instrument, learn how to paint, read books, exercise, learn new recipes… the options are endless. These are just 6 ideas that can hopefully help you get started with your Summer plans. The path to medical school is a difficult one, so it is very wise to start thinking about your plans early and taking advantage of the time you have at your disposal. Ultimately, however, it is important to find a balance between productivity and self-care in order to avoid early burn-out. Best of luck in your pre-med journey and remember to have fun in the process!
Finding research opportunities in high school and college By Jennifer
Being able to find research and lab opportunities was something I struggled with throughout high school, and it is also something a lot of college students struggle with. I understand the feeling of not knowing where to look, or not knowing where to start. I hope these tips will help you navigate and successfully find research opportunities! Qualifications: Try your best to make yourself a qualified applicant. You can do this by taking courses that pertain to the subject, as well as going above and beyond. If you are in high school, taking AP or college courses will help strengthen you as an applicant. For example, I concurrently enrolled in scientific courses at a local community college my junior and senior year of high school, which allowed me to gain deeper understanding and greater experience than my peers. This also made me seem more mature, and I would often mention in my application that “even though I am a high school student, I’ve taken multiple college level STEM courses, so I am confident that I have a solid scientific background and can work well with older peers.” If you are invited to an interview, the interviewer would often ask scientific questions or ask you to perform procedures on the spot, so making sure you have the baseline qualifications will ensure that you can pass these tests. For example, I’ve been asked to pipette, to explain the process of PCR, and to solve chemistry problems.
Finding Opportunities: I have never had to pay for doing research. I know there are a lot of programs available that are held by universities, but I personally find them too expensive. If you don’t want to apply to a formal program, you can also find research opportunities by emailing college faculty. Because I am interested in life science, I usually go onto the website of a local research based college and look through all the biology related faculty departments. On their profiles, they generally have a link to their lab website, which will have more information about their projects, whether they are recruiting, and their contact information. If I find a lab I am interested in, I would then click on their “contacts” tab, which would often have information about whether they are recruiting and if they are opened to recruiting high schoolers. You can also look on their “members” tab to see if they have accepted high schoolers and undergraduates in the past. Keep note of all the labs that you would be interested in joining.
Constructing the Email: I typically try to keep the body of the email relatively concise. I would briefly introduce myself, explain that I am interested in research, and then spend the rest of the email expressing why I am interested in their lab specifically. At the end of the email, I would ask them to look at my attachments, which include a cover letter, resume, and unofficial transcripts. The cover letter you attach should be specific to the lab you are applying to. I would repeat this process for around 10 labs because most of the labs will not end up responding to you. For every 10 emails I send, I typically get around 0-2 responses. If the response says that they aren’t hiring at the moment, you can thank them for their time and let them know you will try again next year. The research position I got summer of senior year was actually from a professor that rejected me the year before, so don’t be afraid to try again when you have better qualifications. In addition, for high school students, I would recommend sending an email 6-3 months before you actually want to volunteer. For college students, send the email a quarter before you want to start volunteering.
Interviews: If you get invited to an interview, make sure you wear business casual and that your outfit follows personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines. As I mentioned before, a lot of times the interviewer would want to show you around lab or have you perform simple procedures as a test, so make sure you are wearing closed toe shoes and long pants. Of course, don’t come in a full on suit because that would probably make them uncomfortable. During the interview, you have to really demonstrate your interest in the lab. I have found that the best way to do this is to ask questions. The interviewer would often briefly explain the project the lab is working on, so listen carefully and try to ask meaningful or insightful questions. However, make sure your questions have depth, because asking questions about very basic things would have the opposite effect and make you seem unqualified. And of course, be prepared to answer questions as well. After the interview, I always send a thank you email to thank them for their consideration. These are just a few tips to get you started on looking for research. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t successful at first. Looking for research takes a lot of effort and time, but it is definitely rewarding once you get in. It’s common to face a lot of rejections as a high school student (and even as an undergraduate). Just don’t give up, and if you are truly passionate about research, someone will see it eventually!