Senior Minori Saito has always been passionate about science. This summer, she took the opportunity to further explore the field.
Given the opportunity through a close friend, Saito interned at a lab in the Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) at the University of Pennsylvania. Her internship ran from June to August, and mainly revolved around the Y98F HA protein, a mutated version of the influenza virus.
“Doing that internship was really huge for me to sort of see where I am with my passion in science, and if this is genuinely something that I can see myself doing in 10, 20, 30 years,” Saito said. “I really got to understand the work that goes into being a scientist.”
Saito’s love for science began when she was very young. Although she participated in a microbiology internship program, Saito is more interested in pursuing chemistry.
“I’ve always been interested in chemistry,” Saito said. “My love for it started with making potions in my parents’ bathroom, like when you mix shampoo, body wash, and lotion to create these weird messes.”
Besides pursuing chemistry and other sciences through her own devices, Saito’s fascination was greatly supported by her parents.
“My parents really cultivated my love for science through buying me lab sets. I got my first Bunsen burner when I was around six,” Saito said. “They bought me all sorts of kid-safe chemicals that I could mix up and blow up.”
In addition, Saito’s parents also provided her with ball-and-stick atomic models and chemistry books to further foster her interest in science.
Along with support from her parents, Saito’s experience at Haven established an even stronger passion for science.
“I’m part of the Women in STEM club,” Saito said. “We set up a bunch of tables at the NPE STEAM Night a couple of years ago, and I ran a lava lab there. It was really cool. I got to share chemistry with little kids.”
Furthermore, Saito credits much of her interest to the science teachers she had throughout her entire educational career.
“The science teachers here in the school district are amazing,” Saito said. “They’ve just been so encouraging and have really helped me continue to pursue my love for science and to think and be curious about the world.”
As for college, Saito intends to pursue a major in chemistry and a minor in biomedical engineering, hoping to take a step closer to her dream of becoming a chemist.
“A lot of what I want to do in the future is use chemistry to formulate and create different synthetic biological materials or different types of medicines,” Saito said.
