Goal
Our STEM Outreach team helps promote careers in the STEM field with the goal of inspiring young students to continue using an analytical mind in all of their endeavors. By working as a small team to develop our lesson plans, STEM Outreach team members have the opportunity to develop their teamwork and leadership skills, as well as learn how to effectively communicate scientific information in order to engage high school students.
How to Join
Applications are released every Fall Quarter to BioScholar members!
The available positions are Head Facilitator and general Team STEM member. Each position has its own application form!
What We Do
In STEM Outreach, a small group of BioScholars collaborate to develop a lesson plan for high school students on how to break down, read, and discuss primary scientific literature.
Our program takes place during Spring Quarter. Members of the team have weekly meetings throughout Winter Quarter to prepare lesson plans for the Preuss School UCSD. This program is led by a BioScholars Head Facilitator and their team. Each session consists of explaining how to read a research article to the students and will discuss a different biologically-relevant topic.
Here are some example scientific articles that Team STEM analyzed!
Student Testimonials
Team STEM has been my favorite part of being a BioScholar. Not only did I get to make lasting friendships with my BioScholars team, but I got to work with amazing Preuss students with a passion for biology. It was extremely rewarding helping students gain the confidence to speak up and ask questions like true scientists. Although the past few years have been difficult for the program, I am proud of everyone’s initiative to keep it going through the pandemic and provide Preuss students with a great experience! Everyone should take advantage of the opportunity to join Team STEM!
– Dalia Koujah, Class of 2021
I came into Team STEM without a clue of what to expect. While I understood that we were a committee in BioScholars that taught about special topics to the students at Preuss, I was completely new to the idea but was so excited to work with other BioScholars and share our knowledge with the Preuss School. The first meeting was nerve-wracking because I felt like I was walking into a room of scholars, but as the meeting went on, the environment became so friendly and accepting. I found that to be a reoccurring theme throughout my experience in Team STEM. While we planned out our presentation, everyone gladly contributed and talked over any doubts that we had. We were unable to go to Preuss to present because of the pandemic, but I was given another amazing opportunity to be a part of Team STEM again in my second year of college as a Head Facilitator. This time around, facilitating my group’s presentation while going remote was intimidating. However, I was stunned when everyone was so willing to participate and add to our growing list of creative ideas for the presentation centered around the COVID-19 vaccine. We had fun meetings where we always did ice-breakers at the beginning, and I think that really helped us all become friends. In April, Team STEM pulled off four amazing presentations on a remote platform, and I’m so grateful to have these experiences that have made me a better student, leader, and friend.
– Ivy Chang, Class of 2023
As a sophomore, I joined Team STEM for the first time. I did not have a lot of experience with reading scientific literature at the time, but through working with my fellow team members in breaking down and discussing the article in order to plan the STEM Program at Preuss, I was able to have a better understanding of how to read and interpret scientific literature. Team members join with different experiences in reading scientific literature. Some have read many articles and some have only heard of but never read scientific literature. I am always learning from my team members and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with such amazing groups of people in the past years. When presenting at Preuss, it is such a unique experience to be able to teach and engage in scientific discussions with the students. Their never-ending curiosity will make you want to learn and understand more on the topics. I highly recommend the STEM Program to anyone looking for a meaningful experience in BioScholars!
– Elizabeth Nguyen, Class of 2022
Despite it being online in 2020-2021, Team STEM was such a fun and rewarding experience, as I was able to closely work with other BioScholars, expand my knowledge on a specific scientific topic, and share both my prior and newly-gained knowledge with students at Preuss. I am really looking forward to being a part of this program again next year, and I can’t wait for what it has to offer!
– Anonymous, Class of 2022
Past Topics
- Spring 2023: The Science of Dreams
- Spring 2022: Fad Diets and Their Effects on the Body & Gene Therapy
- Spring 2021: Effects of Drugs on the Brain & COVID-19 Vaccine Development
- Spring 2020: Vaping & Allergies and Immunity
- Spring 2019: The Effects of Blue Light and Sleep & Genetic Testing
- Spring 2018: Drug and Alcohol & Exercise and the Brain
- Spring 2017: Stress Response & CRISPR-Cas9
- Spring 2016: The Ethics of Clinical Trials & The Controversy of Vaccines
- Spring 2015: Gut Microbiome & Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)