This summer, Downey Unified will send two students to UCLA’s Nanoscience Lab Summer Institute. Through this one-of-a-kind program, these students are introduced to the rigors of college-level course work and are tasked with hands-on experiments. Not only is this a fun and exciting 5-day program for DUSD’s students, it teaches them the key concepts of nanoscale phenomena that make nanoscience and nanotechnology one of the most exciting fields of research today.
A few days ago we caught up with last summer’s participants. We were curious about their experience at UCLA and how it affected their senior year of high school. One student from Warren High School voiced that, “It helped me figure out what I want from my college experience, even though I plan on studying something that’s not directly related to nanoscience.” The 5-day program encourages students to work and collaborate on their projects and presentations, allowing them to share skills and build each other up.
Through seminars, experiments, data collection, and observations students learn the various approaches to nanoscience. On top of this, UCLA’s staff teaches participants how the technology is already being applied across different scientific fields. Another student from Downey shared her experience. “I really liked working with people who are doing nanoscience and developing these new creations,” she expressed, “reaching into the mind of someone who is so much more experienced and educated than I am, and being able to see what they’ve figured out and how they’re changing the world.” If you want to change the world, you have to change your ‘self.’
UCLA has worked hard to create an environment where students can do just that. By working in teams, with college students and professors, content that is otherwise overwhelming is within grasp. It is because of this kind of program that Downey students continue to have doors opened and are exposed to nurturing, challenging experiences.
For more information, visit the Nanoscience Lab Summer Institute website
