STEM Pathways Outreach Event

Outreach plays a pivotal role in the function of STEM Pathways, and as members of the STEM Pathways Summer 2023 cohort, my colleagues and I assisted in various outreach events for high school events during the summer. The outreach event I assisted with was the STEM Pathways Summer Hackathon, which took place in Boston University's Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering (CILSE).

The hackathon targeted high school students and aimed to introduce them to machine learning and biology research and how these two fields intersect to produce beneficial results for society. 

The day started with a customary welcome ceremony in the morning where the high school students were addressed by Ms. Florence Lu, an IBM Senior Technical Architect and Master Inventor, who spoke about her research and the importance of research how a desire to learn sparks innovation in all STEM fields, especially in biology. Then, there were a series of workshops that inspired the highschoolers with potential topics for their hackathon project, as well as to help familiarize them with any unknown topics or skills. Students then paired up and spent the rest of the afternoon working on their project ideas, which were encapsulated in a biological problem which could be solved with machine learning. At the end of the day, there was a period of presentation and judging which climaxed with a talented pair of high school students winning a 3D printer. I served as a TA for this event and spent most of my time making sure I answered any question or issue that the students had with their projects.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience as I was able to see people younger than me develop more passion for a field that I was already passionate about. Furthermore, by listening into the workshops and hearing the presentations, I became more inspired for ideas in my own research.