Developing Passions STEMs from Intensive Summer Programs
The comforting thought of summer break brings utter relief to students who work hard throughout the school year. However, for some students, summer is a valuable time to explore interests in STEM and gain academic enrichment through intensive summer programs like the California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science (COSMOS) and Summer Science Program (SSP).
COSMOS is a four-week residential summer program for high school students who want to immerse themselves in the world of science, according to COSMOS alumnus and junior Andrew Woo. The program offers a variety of clusters covering diverse topics, from the study of nanotechnology to the mechanics of sustainable aviation systems.
“I was really interested in diving deeper into my passions for the STEM field and pursuing it,” COSMOS alumnus and senior Christopher Li said. “My cluster was Computers and Everyday Life, and it helped me secure my major because I felt like computer science was definitely the pathway I wanted to take in the future.”
Similarly, SSP is a residential program that provides students with opportunities to take on complex research projects on topics like biochemistry, astrophysics or genomics over the course of five weeks, according to SSP alumna and senior Lindsey Ko. Focusing on biochemistry, Ko spent over 40 hours in the lab performing experiments on enzymes with her group, forming close-knit bonds with them.
“It was the first week when we were characterizing our protein and trying to get the enzyme stock,” Ko said. “I remember the enzyme that our group was assigned was particularly hard to work with. And because of that, I just really got to know my lab members better because of how long we spent in the lab.”
Both programs educate students through interactive lessons, immersive lectures by academic directors or guest speakers and hands-on lab activities. While the programs mainly focus on teaching scientific content, they also reserve time for students to engage in bonding activities.
For Woo, this bonding time was his favorite part of the program. He said he was able to interact with other students from diverse backgrounds and make new friends through fun activities like star gazing, sports, karaoke and night hiking.
“In high school, especially in Portola, it’s Irvine, and it’s very limited,” Woo said. “But in my case, I went to UC Santa Cruz, so I met a lot of friends from San Francisco, San Jose and even up there in Lake Tahoe. So when you go to COSMOS, there’s a lot of diversity, and you get to learn how to understand different people and what college looks like.”
These programs also prepare students for their future education. Among these students is Ko, who said she gained immense experience in research and lab work that she plans to use in science courses as a college student. Most importantly, SSP pushed Ko out of her comfort zone and made her realize the academic potential she never knew she had, according to Ko.
“There are a lot of takeaways, but I would say the one that resonated with me the most is that even when you think you know your academic limits, there are always things that you can do to go beyond them,” Ko said. “I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with everyone because I was surrounded by so many brilliant people. But in reality, there’s such a strong support system between peers and the directors that you realize that you have more potential than you might actually believe. SSP taught me to challenge that limit that I set for myself and just go beyond what I thought I could do.”
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Madeline Chung is the Arts and Entertainment Editor for her second and final year on the Portola Pilot. When she is not complaining about how terrible...
