High School Students ‘Engineer Their Futures’ at Summer Youth Academy

Nerissa Williams dreams of working at NASA. Fascinated by science, her curiosity brought her to a laboratory at the University of New Haven this summer, where she explored everything from stem cells to making slime.

A rising sophomore at Windsor High School in Windsor, Conn., Williams spent a week as a student-scientist this summer as part of the University’s Engineering Your Future Academy, one of the Summer Youth Academies for high school students. Donning lab coats and goggles, the young scientists had fun exploring science and engineering in the University’s state-of-the-art facilities.

“I wanted to see what the program was all about, and I really liked the activities,” she said. “I learned how to create bacteria cultures.”

Williams and her fellow student-scientists gained hands-on experience with DNA, microbes, and stem cells. They learned about tissue engineering and explored techniques for engineering soft and living materials. Nigel Morgan, who will soon begin his first year of high school, had fun learning in the lab.

“I really like science,” he said. “We did engineering, and we made a card house, and that was cool. We also worked with bacteria and chemical reactions. It was neat doing that on campus.”

‘Get their dream jobs’

The students had the opportunity to learn from practicing scientists – University faculty – including Huan Gu, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemical engineering. She, too, was excited to spend time in the lab this summer, and she couldn’t wait to share her passion for science with her new students.

“The goal of this summer camp is to integrate my research on mechanobiology and materials and surface engineering with outreach in the community,” she said. “I hope that through this camp, these students will get to know what research we are doing at the University of New Haven on engineering bacteria, bacterial biofilm, and tissues. I also hope to recruit advocates to help communication between us and our communities, and motivate students to enter the fields of engineering, biomaterials, and biotechnology.”

While they printed 3D scaffolds for bone-tissue engineering and used fluorescent microbes to paint, students were indeed also “engineering their futures.” In addition to building their skills, they explored a variety of career possibilities in science and engineering.

“Through this camp, I hope they learned what engineering is and what engineers do, as well as what mechanobiology, biomaterials, and biotechnologies are and why they are important,” said Dr. Gu. “I hope they understand how engineers can make use of them to make positive impacts on our society, what their dream jobs are, and how to get their dream jobs. It may sound ambitious, but we want to cover broad topics so that everyone can get a chance to find the specific field they are interested in.”

‘I am excited for them to excel’

Sarah Kispert ’22, ’24 M.S., who was helping at the camp, also enjoyed helping the students explore and discover. She had a good time connecting with them and as well as seeing how much they learned during the week.

“What I have enjoyed the most is watching the students get excited over the work they have accomplished,” said Kispert, a candidate in the University’s graduate program in cellular and molecular biology. “We held a few competitions throughout the week in teams, and seeing how they all have such different ways of thinking to accomplish the same task was the most interesting part. I was proud to watch them work together and unite their ideas to create a final piece of work.

“I hope this camp taught them how to think critically about their work while also expanding their horizons socially,” she continued. “I have had a great week getting to know each of them, and I am excited for them to excel in the future.”

‘What staying in a residence hall was like’

For some students, such as Imogen Blair, the camp was a fun opportunity to explore life as a college student. This summer, for the first time, students had the chance to stay on campus in a residence hall.

Blair, a rising high school senior who visited the University from Long Island, was one of them. She and her fellow students enjoyed a variety of activities that staff had planned for them, including a spirited game of kickball.

“It was nice to see what staying in a residence hall was like,” she said. “My roommate was a great match. Everyone was very accommodating, and it was fun.”