[Student Reporters] Become a researcher at 16?

Annette Ko / <11th, Northwood HS>

By the cool, breezy beach during the hottest time of the year, a group of high school students from all over the world congregated at the University of California, Santa Barbara for a single purpose: To live the life of a researcher for six weeks. Together with university professors and graduate students, these teenagers would embark on a thrilling journey full of new discoveries.

“I got assigned to a nano-particle research on phytoplankton, so I went to the marine biology building with my mentor,” said Samantha Chen. “And the first thing my mentor told me was that the lab needs to be cleaned first.”

Anyone interested in fresh college studies and enticed by the mere mention of RMP probably expects a pristine, high-level research environment that makes high school a distant memory. For some students, like Chen, however, the experience in research starts out much less glamorous.

For others, the first few days are a lesson in the irregular and unpredictable schedule of research work. Hana Kim, a senior who worked on a psychology project called “Facial Recognition Based on Ethnicity,” confessed that sometimes she spent all day “waiting for interviewees to come in,” while, on others, she worked so much that she was barely able to squeeze in dinner before the cafeteria closed.

At a neuroscience lab researching drug addiction, Jordan Weinstein learned to perform surgery on mice, run western blotting and do histology to analyze the data. He was required to read several research papers to understand the effects of methamphetamine on the brain and, because he worked with mice, Weinstein also took several online courses on lab animal care.

Weinstein‘s mentor, Kevin Lominac, started taking mentees ever since he enrolled in UCSB graduate school. Mentoring is “a great way to increase the labor force in the lab while also helping students get some experience to put on their resume,” said Lominac. “I think the most important thing for the students to take away from the experience is a sense of what it is like working in a lab.”

Outside the lab, program students are afforded a number of privileges and enjoy a wide variety of social activities during their leisure time. Students have access to the UCSB library, art museum, recreational center, and swimming pool. With permission from the program counselors, students are allowed to travel by bus for shopping, restaurants, and movies. Students balance their workload by “going on a condensed, fun vacation,” described student Chen.

Activities escalate during the final week of camp. This year, all RMP students prepared a 10- to 20-minute PowerPoint presentation for a symposium to present the progress of their research, attended by beaming parents and even open to the general public. They also had a poster session and a luncheon with the scholarship donors.

Probably the most honorable accomplishment for program students was the publication of their own research papers. Now shelved in the UCSB library, their papers are also accessible to students at other UC schools.

Research papers, hands-on research experience, and recommendation letters from mentors look impressive to college admission officers. Thus, the program helps many students get one step closer to admission into their dream colleges. “UCSB is nationally recognized for its research programs,” said Miriam Fuller, director of the Research Mentorship Program. “To be part of any one of these research is a great opportunity for high school students.”