Published Online: July 18, 2013

Project opens up careers to disadvantaged teens

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Sharon Njeri, 16, is spending her summer helping with pancreatic cancer research at Harper Cancer Research Institute at the University of Notre Dame.

"I'm splitting cells so they can grow. I'm learning a lot," says Njeri, who next month will start her senior year at Riley High School.

She hopes to attend Notre Dame or Purdue University and study to become a chemical engineer.

Njeri and nine other local teens are participating in Project SEED, a program founded by the American Chemical Society that provides economically disadvantaged high school students the opportunity to do paid hands-on research in the chemical sciences during the summer.

The local students work full time in laboratories at Notre Dame or Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend for eight weeks, earning a stipend of $2,500 each, the South Bend Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/13mxElY ). The program is open to students who attend public or private high schools in St. Joseph and Elkhart counties. Students must have completed a high school chemistry course, be recommended by a teacher, complete an application and meet income guidelines. (To be eligible, a student's family income can't exceed two times the federal poverty level.)

The teens also receive mentoring by the scientists with whom they work, learn about college opportunities and are eligible to apply for a Project SEED college scholarship. Each student must write a five-page paper about what they've learned over the summer.

"Each student is assigned to a lab and a professor, and they participate in research at the highest level. We expect a lot from the students," said Mary Prorok, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and Notre Dame's Project SEED contact.

The program is an important tool in raising awareness among students about the need for future scientists to work in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, she said.

Carlton Gary, 17, is a rising junior at Riley. He's working this summer in a Notre Dame laboratory, using a mass spectrometer to assess the purity of chemical samples and identify them based on their molecular mass.

"I've learned a lot about different chemicals and how they react with each other," he said.

"It's very mathematical. Math is my favorite subject, and chemistry is a close second," said Gary. He wants to attend Purdue University and become a chemical engineer.

He's already planning to apply to Project SEED again next summer. "I want to be right back in this same laboratory next year," he said.

Participant Kateri Chabot, 16, of Mishawaka is a rising junior at Trinity School at Greenlawn in South Bend. She's working in a lab monitoring the rate of reactions of certain chemicals in cells.

"This is really, really good experience. It's good to know your way around a lab before you pursue a career in it," she said.

Nicole Osborne, 17, is extracting DNA for breast cancer research. A particular protein is overexpressed in about 25 percent of breast cancer cases, and scientists are working to discover the link between that protein and the disease. Osborne, a rising senior at Elkhart Central High School, plans to attend college to study chemistry or biochemistry.

Project SEED is a national program to help high school students expand their education and career outlooks. Promising students who apply and are accepted are placed in summer jobs in research laboratories in academic, industry or government research facilities.

The local program is funded by the American Chemical Society, ND's College of Science and Harper Cancer Research Institute.

This is Notre Dame's fourth summer in Project SEED, and the 10 current students are the largest group here so far.

This summer's students are drawn from Riley, Trinity, Mishawaka, Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial high schools.

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com


This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the South Bend Tribune.


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