Posted on Jul 10, 2007

Thirteen-year-old Oneida Middle School students Tatiana Edmonson and Maya Williams disect double-injected giant bull frogs to compare their digestive and ciculatory systems to humans during the 2007 STEP Summer Camp.

Dozens of middle and high school students from around the region are spending their summer days getting a taste of the college life in two separate programs focusing on math, science and technology.

A record 40 students from Schenectady city public schools will spend the next three weeks exploring quantum physics, dissecting frogs and getting career advice as part of the Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) summer camp. The program, now in its 11th year,  is sponsored by the Kenney Community Center and funded by the New York State Department of Education.

Among those giving instruction are Deidre Hill Butler, assistant professor, sociology; Samuel Amanuel, visiting assistant professor of physics; Ashraf Ghaly, professor of engineering; James N. Hedrick, lecturer, electrical and computer engineering; Stephen G. Romero, assistant professor, psychology and Twitty Styles, professor emeritus of biology. Student mentors Dapo Akinleye ’02 and Elroy Tatem ’06 are also helping out.

Twitty Styles, professor emeritus of biology, shows students in the 2007 STEP Summer Camp the gull bladder of a giant bull frog.

In addition to classroom work, students take two field trips: the Rose Center in New York City and the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.

"As professors we get as much back from the students as the students get from the program, in terms of their curiosity and enthusiasm," said Hedrick. "We are all enthusiastic about the whole thing.”

Meanwhile, 20 students are enrolled in the Summer Science Workshop, a two-week program for promising juniors and seniors interested in biomedical sciences.

Also in its 11th year, the workshop gives select students the opportunity to attend college-level classes, work in laboratories and receive college and career guidance to pursue science and health-related fields.

This year’s curriculum explores infectious diseases, tissue engineering and molecular biology, and includes field trips to Albany Medical Center and the New York State Crime Lab in Albany. The courses are taught by Quynh Chu-LaGraff, associate professor of biology and director of the workshop, Assistant Program Director of Biology Lisa Christenson and Professor Emeriti Twitty Styles. Biology teachers from Guilderland High School, along with Union students Sara Nash ’08, Gianella Sornoza ’09, Molly Merz ’10 and Steven Kassof ’10 also help out.

Steven Kassof '10 (standing) helps Alyssa Reyes, 16, from the N.J. Academy for Information Technology and Joe Gonzalez, 16, of Schenectady High School add trypsin enzyme to endothelial cells during the 2007 Summer Science Workshop.

“We've designed the curriculum using an interdisciplinary approach to biomedical sciences, making the Workshop an excellent recruiting tool for Union to attract a more diverse student body to pursue a career in science and engineering,” said Chu-LaGraff.

The workshop is funded with a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

For more information, contact Barbara Ann Pytel at (518) 388-6746.

For additional information on STEP offerings, contact STEP assistant director Angela Blair at (518) 388-6609 or blaira@union.edu or Gretchel Tyson, director of affirmative action, community outreach and STEP programs, Kenney Community Center.