By 2020, Memory Cain may be a surgeon. Then again, she may not. "It's a lot of school," says the 16-year-old high school junior from the gritty streets just west of downtown Chicago. "But that's what I want to do."

Colleges and universities, which often compete with one another to attract the most talented minority students, need more teenagers like Cain to help expand the pool of qualified applicants. The Chicago Academy of Sciences is trying to make sure that she and others are truly prepared. With HHMI support, the academy brings Cain and 15 other sophomores and juniors from Chicago public high schools to its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum on Saturdays to work with scientists and talk about career opportunities. The teenagers also serve as museum volunteers, learning science as they explain it to younger children and their families.

The program focuses on mentoring at every level, with museum staff guiding the teenagers, who in turn teach younger children such as Girl Scouts working on science badges. For the same price, the museum could have reached hundreds of students with a one-time auditorium-style program. "We chose to try a different approach," explains Jennifer Blitz, the academy's vice president of education and HHMI program director. "We wanted to see if intensive attention could make a big difference in a small number of lives."

Recognizing that academic grades do not necessarily predict scientific performance, particularly at a young age, Blitz's staff decided to target average students who express an interest in science. Some of the teenagers have barely a C grade-point average, says Melanie Napoleon, the museum's manager of enrichment programs. "We take kids at different stages in their development," she explains, "and we expose them to each other and to as much science and as many scientists as possible, because you never know which seed will take root and grow."

The program, which includes children of recent immigrants, is a labor-intensive, high-maintenance effort, supported since 1993 by two HHMI grants totaling $450,000. Just over 100 youngsters have completed it. Is it worth the price? "We think it is," says Blitz. Most of its graduates are in college or planning to go, many with hopes of pursuing careers in science and medicine. Otilia Pineda, who participated in 1996, will complete a bachelor's degree in biology and psychology at DePaul University this spring and plans to go to graduate school. Eduardo Roman, a high school senior, hopes for a career in biochemistry. All the participants, regardless of their plans, have learned more about science.

Program coordinator Morgan Scholten has advice for other institutions that might develop similar programs to help prepare more minority teenagers to pursue careers in science and medicine. "Involve teachers and families from the beginning and keep them informed; they are essential in recruiting participants and keeping them in the program," she says. "You also need to help the teens get to know each other, and put them at ease with games and other group activities. And give the youngsters real work to do, even if it is not directly related to science. Being entrusted with independent tasks helps teens develop self-confidence."

Jennifer Boeth Donovan

Photo: Robb Hill

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Reprinted from the HHMI Bulletin,
May 2001, pages 28-33.
©2001 Howard Hughes Medical Institute