Students

Eighteen student interns from various high schools and colleges competed in the Scientific Library’s Ninth Annual Student Science Jeopardy Tournament on July 24, in the auditorium of Building 549, in front of a large crowd of people watching in person and remotely from the Advanced Technology Research Facility.

Competing in teams of two, the nine teams played intently, trying to master the signaling devices so they could respond to the wide-ranging clues. Question topics included ancient science, lives of the scientist, periodic table, anatomy, double-letter ...

They came for a science lesson. They left with more.

The new Werner H. Kirsten student interns filed into the auditorium in Building 549 to expand their knowledge of fundamental laboratory practices, as part of the Science Skills Boot Camp. A panel of presenters instructed the attendees on skills such as reading scientific papers effectively, practicing proper research ethics, and conducting professional presentations.

Scientific Program Manager Ulrike Klenke, Ph.D., NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education, started the June event by welcoming her audience and encouraging the interns to break away from their familiar groups of classmates and to socialize with others from different schools and counties.

Class of 2014–2015 Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) student intern Rebecca “Natasha” Freed earned a fourth-place award in biochemistry at the 2015 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the largest high school science research competition in the world, according to the Society for Science & the Public’s website.

Freed described the event as “transformative experience,” where she was able to present her research to “experts, including Nobel laureates, as well as members of the general community and, of course, to [other students].”

Editor’s note: We asked Werner H. Kirsten Student Internship Program (WHK SIP) mentors to tell us about the unique and diverse backgrounds of some of this year’s student interns.

Alex Beall

Microarray Group, Genomics Laboratory, Cancer Research Technology Program
Mentors: Nicole Shrader and Stephanie Mellott, research associates

By Nathalie Walker, Guest Writer

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a series describing one student’s perspective on her experiences as a Werner H. Kirsten student intern.

“The future depends on what you do today.” Those wise words were spoken by Mahatma Gandhi. Before I started my Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) student internship, I did not know what I know now. I only knew what each of Gandhi’s words meant individually. I now understand the full meaning of the phrase. To me, Gandhi’s words mean that nothing in life is handed to you. You have to work hard today to get the results you want tomorrow.

By Nathalie Walker, Guest Writer

Editor’s note: This article represents one student’s perspective on her experiences as a Werner H. Kirsten student intern.

Failure isn’t just a possibility, it is a certainty; yet failure is what leads you to success. Above all else, that is what I will retain from my experience in the Werner H. Kirsten Student Intern Program (WHK SIP).

By Nathalie Walker, Guest Writer, and Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer

On July 31, NCI at Frederick hosted Student Poster Day, an annual event in which student interns can showcase the work they do in their various positions in NCI at Frederick labs and offices.

Participating students are interns in the Student Internship Program, a program designed for undergraduate and graduate students during their summer breaks, as well as interns in the Werner H. Kirsten Student Internship Program (WHK SIP), a program for high school seniors. All the students have an opportunity to present their scientific posters. 

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer

Werner H. Kirstin (WHK) student intern Ben Freed was one of 40 finalists to compete in the Intel Science Talent Search (STS) in Washington, DC, in March.

“It was seven intense days of interacting with amazing judges and incredibly smart and interesting students. We met President Obama, and then the MIT astronomy lab named minor planets after each of us,” Freed said of the competition.  

By Nancy Parrish, Staff Writer

Janine Bahsali and Esther Shafer are Middletown High School seniors who go to school in the morning and spend their afternoons taking blood pressure, assisting with physical exams, learning how to draw a blood sample and stitch a wound closed, and generally assisting the staff of Occupational Health Services (OHS), a health care department serving more than 2,000 employees at NCI at Frederick.

Thirty-five Werner H. Kirsten student interns toured the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda in August to learn about the services and opportunities available.