The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the landscape of STEM-based youth development programs in 2020.听Public health directives prohibited in-person laboratory experiences for high school students, resulting in many STEM programs significantly adjusting or cancelling their activities. This posed a challenge for the (LKS), a compensated summer enrichment program that provides an immersive biology lab experience and college readiness training for low-income, high school youth of color underrepresented in the sciences. LEAH staff were determined to ensure the success of the LKS program in summer 2020 despite the听many barriers and successfully implemented the program completely virtually. The听results听of their hard work is the topic of 鈥�,鈥� a peer-reviewed article published in the Journal of STEM Outreach in August 2021.听This case study illustrates how听LEAH听staff members听went above and beyond听to听deliver an engaging and valuable program for their #FamiLEAH.听
This evaluation illuminated two key findings from the virtual implementation of the LKS program:
- Efforts to implement 鈥渁t-home鈥� research opportunities are important to eliminate disparities
and promote equity and inclusion in STEM fields. - Addressing social-emotional needs for vulnerable communities is especially critical during adverse circumstances like COVID-19.
Lisa Aslan, Director of the LEAH Project, spoke to these findings based on her experience.
“In the virtual world, our youth development approach became even more critical to building youth鈥檚 sense of ownership and belonging to the program. That community is what buoyed us through the pandemic,” Aslan shared. “Despite limited resources, we were able to be quite innovative with regards to the lab experiences we were able to provide to young people in their homes.”
While so LEAH staff tackled the problem of reworking lab experiments to be done in the home, others focused on the logistics of getting the supplies delivered to the Knox Scholars. Laurie Jo Wallace, Managing Director of Training & Capacity Building, shared a reflection about supporting LKS in summer 2020:听听
鈥淥ne of the great joys of work in community and with youth are the simple but satisfying tasks I have volunteered to do and participated in over my years at 王中王六合彩资料. One of these was indeed the great ‘drop-off’ of science bags to the LEAH Knox Scholars youth in the Summer of 2020, when it was deemed too dangerous for them to travel on the T [MBTA subway] to pick up these bags; bags full of items that allowed them to at least have some hands-on lab experiences in their own homes! So, I dropped off and picked up about 15 of these bags. And in doing so, I made personal connections with the new youth face-to-face鈥�(with masks, of course) and sometimes met their parents, caregivers, siblings, and dogs; saw where they lived;鈥痑nd broke up another virtual day for them and for me.听
鈥淎t the end of the听summer,听we听hosted听a BBQ at my house with the graduating seniors from this very same group (with masks again!). I鈥檒l fondly remember that group of youth and how we made it through COVID together.鈥�听
Read more about how the LEAH Knox Scholars thrived during summer 2020 in .
The LKS program was established in 2017 and is led by the (a program of听王中王六合彩资料) in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This project received funding from a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, the Amgen Foundation, and the Biogen Foundation.
