PUSD @ the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students Follow-up Report
When I began the Neurobiology PhD Program in the Fall of 2016, I brought along my desire to serve my local community by doing what I know best--sharing and teaching science. I joined the Black Scientists and Engineers (BSEC), eager to address racial inequities in quality STEM education and careers. Serendipitously, Dr. Lawton Gray, Principal of John Muir High School, had recently reached out to the coordinator of the Caltech Y’s Rise tutoring program, Liz Jackman, requesting tutoring from Caltech students for his own high schoolers. Then-President of BSEC President and Rise Tutor, Stephanie Threatt, connected me with Liz and I began helping with math homework at John Muir’s after-school LEARNS program. After working with these students for a few months, I noticed that not only were there far too many students without access to the kind of tutoring help they needed, but educational extracurricular opportunities, which challenge those students already excelling, were sparse. In the Fall of 2017, I fantasized of bringing such students interested in scientific and medical careers to the Annual Biomedical Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) as a way to address this need. With the support and generosity of Caltech staff members, my colleagues, the Pasadena Delta Foundation, and PUSD staff members, I was able to fund and accompany 14 aspiring doctors from all four of PUSD’s high schools to this national conference in Anaheim, California.
The Conference
Over three days, the students immersed themselves in scientific talks and posters, networking meals, professional development workshops, and the postgraduate programs fair. Since the conference caters mainly to undergraduate students seeking summer research or admission to graduate/medical programs, the students made an impression on dozens of the schools represented. When visiting the tables myself, the representatives spoke highly of the students’ initiative and precocity. Several of the students also took it upon themselves to greet speakers after their talks and ask questions about ongoing research.
Follow Up Survey
The goals of this program were to: (1) provide PUSD students with the opportunity to explore new scientific ideas, (2) equip them with information regarding the requirements of matriculating into competitive postgraduate programs while they still have plenty of time to utilize the information, and (3) invite them into the academic community in a supportive and engaging way to establish scientific identity and build confidence. Eight of the students took a follow-up survey I created.
To the effect of the first goal, four of the responding students listed scientific talks/posters as their favorite aspect of the conference, and five stated a newfound scientific insight as the most interesting thing they learned during the conference. The remaining responses to these questions described various aspects of postgraduate education. In terms of professional development, all respondents stated that they learned very important or crucial information for navigating their career paths. When asked specifically about information they would incorporate into career plans, five students reported that prior to the conference, they had not understood the magnitude of competition in acceptance to medical programs. Four of those five students said they were unaware of the intensity involved in preparing for and taking the MCAT. Gaining insight early on is invaluable for students aiming for highly ranked programs. I hope students will go on to join pre-medical student organizations in college and seek other resources to help them prepare in advance for their MCATs. Other helpful topics that came up in students’ responses included scholarship opportunities, seeking mentorship, the value of undergraduate research, and the importance of persistence in becoming a doctor or scientist.
Academic conferences are a quick, one-shot way to accomplish goals 1 and 2, since they consist of a condensed lineup of scientific/professional sessions in an environment concentrated with individuals in the field. There are other avenues in place for students to access scientific and professional information, but the third goal of establishing scientific identity is unique to the conference experience. All respondents stated that conference attendance affirmed their confidence in their ability to pursue biomedical careers. All respondents also reported at least one element of the conference to be inspiring, motivating, or eye-opening.
Additional Considerations
One concern brought up to me when sharing my idea for the conference trip was that engaging young people in STEM requires long-term, consistent support, rather than a single event. In my personal experience, however, attending ABRCMS opened up doors to people and programs like Caltech, with which I would not have otherwise been involved. Hence, this three-day conference did shape my academic career in a meaningful way. Based on the follow-up reports, most of the students share this sentiment with me just weeks after the conference. Another concern was that high school juniors and seniors needed more support in navigating college, rather than thinking so far ahead to postgraduate opportunities. I believe these needs can and should be addressed concurrently, as college should serve the next career stage and must be planned for accordingly. All respondents said that the conference either affirmed their choice of college major, or helped guide them to a more focused discipline. For instance, one student who wanted to study psychology and neuroscience in college determined she wanted to explore behavioral neuroscience. Although the universities represented were advertising postgraduate programs, five students claimed the conference was helpful in determining their choice of colleges.
Conclusions
My informal team and I successfully brought 14 PUSD high schoolers to a national academic conference. With no formal training in educational programming, I was able to secure almost $10,000 in funding to accomplish the venture, which meaningfully impact these students’ academic careers in the span of just three days. This experience provides evidence that there are plenty of talented high-schoolers who are motivated and mature enough to participate in academic conferences. It also goes to show that Caltech has the resources to support the Pasadena community in unprecedented ways, even without the establishment of long-term educational programming. It affirmed for me, personally, that I want to pursue a career in education policy after I earn my doctorate. I hope this success encourages more members of the Caltech Community to serve the larger Pasadena Community, regardless of the perceived magnitude of impact.
Acknowledgements
I would like to recognize and thank Sean Pike, a fellow graduate student at Caltech, for helping to plan and execute this program from start to finish. Outside of any official Club officer role, Sean volunteered his time to make this trip possible, without any formal recognition. Teacher chaperones Beverly Rodriguez and Michele Manzanares were also incredibly generous with their time and participation in the program. I would also like to thank the Caltech Y--Liz Jackman for her support and the Rise Program for sponsoring a Rise student, Greg Fletcher for managing the ACT award, the ACT Award Selection Panel, and the donors whose generosity funded the trip. I am also incredibly grateful for the support of Mitch Akin and Kitty Cahalan from the Caltech Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach (CTLO). Both Mitch and Kitty guided me through the administrative and permissive requirements for establishing the program. Kitty connected me with PUSD teachers and distributed information flyers to school administrators. The Program Coordinators at the Caltech Center for Diversity also assisted me with administrative planning. Finally, I would like to thank Cynthia Cannady, Debra Ward, and the rest of the Pasadena Delta Foundation for their support.
