Throughout high school, students begin identifying what they are interested in through classes and other unique experiences. These interests are then carried over as students begin to pick their majors and what they want to pursue in the future.
For some students, this interest is science.
“I did the GSK Science in the Summer thing a really long time ago,” senior Kelly Montague said. “The theme of the summer was genetics and traits and stuff. It was so cool.”
Montague will be attending Purdue University, where she will be pursuing a passion for genetics that she has carried throughout high school. Not only was Montague inspired by GSK’s science summer program, but she also became interested in genetics through Haven science classes.
“Once I finished 10th grade biology, and was like ‘wow, like, this is really interesting to me,’” Montague said. “AP Biology really pushed my interest over the edge.”
AP Biology has not only inspired Montague’s passion, but a variety of other students’ interest in science.
“AP Biology with Ms. [Katie] Shepard was amazing,” senior Emily Lin said. “I think Ms. Shepard does a really good job of getting people or students to think for themselves and work through labs and understanding the material, rather than being afraid of failure. And she just provides such a strong foundation for science in general.”
Lin will be studying earth and atmospheric science at Cornell University, and also hopes to engage in research.
“I ended up picking Cornell out of the places I got in because of the academic offering in general, but also the research opportunities that they have in science,” Lin said.
Senior Tianyue Wang, who will be attending New York University for global public health and biology, also sees the impact that classes have had on her interest to study science.
“I was always interested in biology, and then AP Biology was definitely like, ‘I’m really interested in this,’” Wang said. “I also really loved AP Psychology.”
Not only has AP Biology made science-minded students more interested in science, but other science classes have as well.
“Anatomy and Physiology was a huge turning point in my science journey. I guess it made me super aware of all the complex systems in our bodies, and how complex everything we do is,” senior Mali Rao said.
Rao is continuing her education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she will be studying nutritional sciences and hopes to educate other people on the value of nutrition.
“I didn’t really know how important nutrition was until the last few years, and so I want to be able to learn more about it, but also educate other people about it, because I think it’s very important,” Rao said.
Students’ interest in science has not only been piqued by classes, but also by experiences, such as internships.
“I really got into science in high school because I started doing an internship over the summer that involved working in a lab,” senior Ravneet Kaur, who will be attending the University of Michigan for biology and pre-med, said.
Senior Riley Smith will be exploring environmental science at Ursinus College, where she also hopes to pursue education.
“I picked Ursinus because they have a really good science program, and I want to go into teaching in the future, and they work really closely with schools. They’re building a program to help teach environmental science and I’m really excited because I think I’m going to help build that curriculum,” senior Riley Smith said.
Whether they’re interested in becoming a teacher of science, a doctor, or any other job in a STEM field, Haven students have been able to explore their interests through their high school classes.
