Bring Science Research to Marginalized Youth

During my time pursuing research at various prominent institutions, I rarely saw Black and Latinx students in my laboratories. Even in these institutions that care deeply about diversity, it seemed that there was little to no representation in the scientific research community. But this phenomenon is only a window into a larger pipeline issue surrounding science.

Pursuing science -- particularly research -- is already difficult for well-off high school students. There are only a handful of programs, each of which accept only tens of students from the entire nation, every summer. Alternatively, pursuing research as a youth with a professor is often unpaid and requires reliable transportations or connections. But what about for the marginalized - how much more difficult is it to pursue research when there are a million barriers in the way to scientific research?

To address this pervasive issue, I’m starting the Science Mentorship Institute (Sci-MI, our website link), an educational nonprofit that brings science research mentorship to youth in marginalized communities. Through this nonprofit, I will be providing free scientific research training to all interested high school students in the US.  We are driven by volunteer mentors who teach the methods for scientific research and help students pursue an independent project using open-sourced tools. For the past two years, I have piloted this program successfully in my immediate community; I now believe it is time to bring a systemic change to the way we train young scientists in this country. Science must be inclusive, welcoming, and supportive, and we exist to help make this dream a reality.

We need your help, and even a little bit will go a long way. Starting an institution like this requires much financial support in stipends for extremely impoverished students and gathering scientific resources. Through your donation, you will be directly impacting the lives of students who will otherwise never have thought that a career as a scientist was a possibility for them. 


Here is how your donations will directly support this cause:

At $100 raised, we will be able to support all our administrative needs for the next year.

At $500, we will be able to support development of all teaching materials and access to research-specific tools.

At $800, we will do all of the above and also be able to support all fees associated with scaling up this organization to be a formal nonprofit to serve all states and school districts in the US.

At $1000, we can support small stipends or scholarships for some students from marginalized communities.

At $2000, we can support stipends for many students from marginalized communities.

At $3000+, we can support all of the above and more; we can also support staff members who are highly qualified and trained, including graduate students, postdocs, and some faculty.