“The Life Science
Summer Institute plays a critical role in preparing future professionals for
the skills they will need to flourish in the biotechnology sector”
Peter Callstrom
San Diego Workforce Partnership
Spending eight hours everyday on intense study in a classroom
may not be how many teens envision launching their summer vacation.
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At the Life Science Summer Institute |
Just don’t tell that to the 13 high school sophomores, juniors
and seniors who began a prestigious, 8-week, Life Science Summer Institute
program with 40 hours of training at a Grossmont College `boot camp’ to prepare
them for working the rest of the summer in paid internships at The Salk
Institute for Biological Studies, the Scripps Research Institute and UC San
Diego.
“It was wonderful,” said Fowsia Abdi, 17, who just completed her
junior year at Mount Miguel High School. “They started out teaching us the
basics, what we need to know when working in a laboratory, doing a lot of experiments,
doing a lot of math skills work, and how to keep a notebook.”
After completing the boot camp, Fowsia began her internship at
Scripps for nearly two months of neuroscience research.
“When I learned I had been accepted into the program, I thought
maybe I’d be doing filing work,” she said. “Then I went in for an interview and
learned that I’ll be working with a mentor doing laboratory research. It’s an
incredible opportunity.”