Ignite inSTEM summer camp mentors underrepresented students in chemistry

In a chemistry lab at Oregon State University, high school students recently created tiny particles invisible to the naked eye. Clad in lab coats, these young students were also a part of something bigger — the vision of an associate professor aiming to make STEM fields accessible to all.

For five days, the students participated in the Ignite inSTEM summer camp, a groundbreaking initiative to diversify the biomedical workforce by engaging underrepresented youth in hands-on science for the first time and improving their retention in STEM.

Thanks to funds provided by her National Science Foundation CAREER award, chemist Marilyn Rampersad Mackiewicz launched the camp in 2022, partnering with STEM Academy Director Catherine Law. The camp aims to recruit local first-generation and low-income students from Black and Hispanic communities, giving them the opportunity to solve a challenge in human health.

This year’s camp included 10 Latinx high schoolers who had never taken a science class before.

“The fact that the room was full of students that have gone through similar experiences made me less nervous to participate because I felt comfortable in the group. For the first time, I was in a science lab full of diversity,” a student said.

Two campers hold up a beaker with orange solution for a closer look and write down their observations at the Ignite inSTEM summer camp at Oregon State University.

Campers carefully analyzing their solutions and recording their observations.

Five days of chemistry

In the lab, students quickly learned chemical safety and engaged in small independent research projects centered on nanomaterial synthesis.

Nanomaterial synthesis involves creating tiny materials through controlled chemical reactions. When their basic elements are small enough, nanoparticles take on unique characteristics that are vital for advancements in medicine and electronics.

This week-long program immersed campers in hands-on research, workshops, career coaching and professional development. Over five days, campers gained experience in the lab synthesizing a variety of nanomaterials, brainstorming and testing chemical reactions that changed the characteristics of the materials, learning how to make posters and attending professional development workshops.

A significant factor of the camp’s success is the peer mentors, who are current undergraduate and graduate students from Oregon State. While encouraging and guiding the campers through each lab procedure, the peer mentors shared their stories and experiences along the way, creating an enriching and rewarding environment for everyone.

In camp, their mini-research experience included the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging system. By using light waves to capture high-resolution images, this tool allowed students to visualize nanoparticles in gelatin. This gooey substance is an effective mimic material because it has similar characteristics to eye tissue.

A closeup of a camper using a pipette in the lab at Oregon State University.

Campers gaining hands-on experience with a variety of lab instruments, including pipettes.

Then, the campers embedded their nanoparticles in eye tissue samples. By doing this, they learned how to build nanomaterials that can be used as a contrast agent for eyes, which is a development that aids medical professionals in the field when monitoring eye diseases in their patients.

After hanging their lab coats up for the day, campers focused on building networking, negotiation and communication skills. This included how to pay for college and find opportunities with the Dreaming Beyond Borders center on campus.

By the end of the week, campers learned what it is like to be a scientist and what resources are available to help them succeed.

"We are proud to say that one of the most significant things students discovered was that they belonged on campus."

One camper happily reported, “The workshops and the stories that the peer mentors told us were the most valuable because they helped us relate to their experiences. This made me feel more confident because if they could do it, then I could do it too.”

Both the research and professional development activities set students up for success on the last day of camp, where they showcased what they learned with their very own poster presentations.

The poster session encouraged them to communicate what they learned, in English and Spanish, and build confidence while speaking with family, Oregon State faculty members, graduate students and undergraduate students.

“We aim to demonstrate how much the experience has meant to the scholars and what they have learned that could not be taught inside a classroom,” Mackiewicz said. “Even though this is their first time learning any chemistry, our students have shown great courage and effort in stepping out of their comfort zones to learn new subjects.”

Purple gloves hold a row of cube magnets up to a glass container slightly filled with dark orange solution in a chemistry lab at Oregon State University.

Nanomaterials have a wide range of properties that need to be tested, including magnetism.

What made mentoring young professional chemists possible

The camp’s origin story began in a classroom at a completely different school. Before coming to Oregon State, Mackiewicz designed a community-based capstone class where fourth-year students at Portland State University led a symposium for high schoolers. The event aimed to empower and help advance women and underrepresented minorities in STEM.

“The impact on these high school students was immense. I wanted to extend this level of professional development by integrating it into some early research experiences in a camp,” Mackiewicz said. “The drive to do this came from my own experiences as a first-generation student, and all the students I encountered doing research in my lab asked how to build these skills.”

By 2022, Ignite inSTEM was born. Every summer since, the camp has provided opportunities that lend a helping hand to students facing various barriers, and cements a stronger path to developing diverse global scientific leaders early on. Its success is already evident with positive results.

One camper decked out in goggles eagerly observes a bunch of test tubes linked up to a bulb with wires in a chemistry lab at Oregon State University.

Campers eagerly awaiting the results of their experiments.

In a 2023 pre-camp survey, about 80 percent of the students expressed fear toward science classes due to language barriers and difficulties in vocabulary and math skills. When questioned about attending college, most students stated that family and financial constraints posed a significant barrier. They even indicated they’d never set foot on OSU’s campus because they believed they were not allowed to.

After camp, this improved significantly. Every participant said that the camp made them think about what they wanted to do after high school. Progress didn’t stop there — their skills in negotiation, building relationships with mentors and sponsors, and networking also grew.

“We are proud to say that one of the most significant things students discovered was that they belonged on campus,” Mackiewicz said. “Many students expressed an interest in staying connected and returning to the lab. The parents and teachers found the program to be incredible and are eager to find ways to involve more students.”

Ignite inSTEM’s student improvement findings were presented at the 2023 American Chemical Society meeting in San Francisco, CA. For more information about the camp and opportunities to partner, check out their website.