Noggin recently teamed up with three inspiring partners, NIH BUILD EXITO and the Equity & Empowerment Corps (EEC) at Portland State University, and the Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science at OHSU. We brought volunteers, enthusiasm, research background, diversity, empowerment and BRAINS to Reynolds High School for a lively introduction to neuroscience in Mr. Wergeland’s first period Human Anatomy Class…
“Let knowledge serve the city,” is the motto for Portland State, which is the largest and most diverse public university in Oregon. Reynolds is among the state’s largest and most diverse public high schools, and Ali Mirzazadeh Javaheri, a PSU undergraduate, NIH BUILD EXITO scholar and member of the university’s Global Diversity & Inclusion’s (GDI) Equity & Empowerment Corps, asked NW Noggin to visit the school.
We reached out to Eileen Torres of the Alliance for Visible Diversity in Science at OHSU (“Where healing, teaching and discovery come together”) who was also excited to participate. Ali and Eileen were joined by Ashley Keates, Jasmin Limbaugh, Jade Osilla, Tyler Braly and Michael Deveney of PSU early on a Tuesday morning to meet with Reynolds high school seniors.
LEARN MORE ABOUT EILEEN TORRES: Feeling stressed?
LEARN MORE: Meet Ali Mirzazadeh Javaheri
From Ali…
“In my opinion, high school students do not get a fair insight into STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics) fields. They are only taught the material in the textbooks. Moreover, there are many cases in which they get discouraged by comments such as ‘you’d better try something easier, more doable,’ or ‘I don’t think you can make it.’ This is why many students lack both interest and motivation to get into these fields. Students need an environment that helps them focus on the goals and possibilities rather than obstacles so that they can actually grow.”
“I believe that having NW Noggin, AVDS, EEC, and all the volunteers was a great factor in regards to getting students into the right mindset. Having actual behavioral neuroscientists who do significant research and meaningful outreach, highly involved graduate students, and PSU undergraduates and EEC members in the school helped students see the possibility of not only going to college but also excelling at it in ‘hard science’ fields. I hope that they could at least get an idea of the fact that if there are others who have made it, they can make it too.”
“Furthermore, I think that you cannot really develop a deep feeling or passion about anything if you do not get at least a close exposure or hands-on experience with it. The fact that this event was not just a lecture and included having students feel a bit of wonder of neuroscience ensures me that they are having at least a spark of interest into the field and higher education.”
“It was great to see how students were into their own individual bubbles trying to figure out what’s going on during the introduction, and how they started getting more involved and asking thoughtful questions. As mentioned before, it was really amazing to have them actually feel bits of the field.”
From Eileen Torres at OHSU: “As a graduate student, it is gratifying to share my excitement for the wondrous mystery of the brain with new people, especially young students. Many times my answer to a question is ‘We’re not sure yet how it works, but this is what we know so far…'”
“One of my favorite parts is the switch you see from when we do the presentation part to the hands-on part. First, students sit quietly and ask thoughtful questions to the presenters. Once you let them get up and interact with the brains, you can see their faces light up with curiosity. They start calling out to each other ‘Have you touched it yet? Why are you afraid? You’ve got a brain too.’ It’s an amazing resource that NW NOGGIN offers.”
“Reynolds High School includes many students from minority backgrounds that deserve access to STEAM. As this is central to the AVDS mission, we strongly support organizations like NW NOGGIN and Build EXITO and look forward to fostering this partnership with many more events.”
Many thanks to Ali, Eileen, our tireless Noggin volunteers, and Mr. Wergeland and his curious students for another synaptic community connection!