Before he enrolled in the University糖心传媒檚 Upward Bound program last summer, Derek McNeil糖心传媒檚 knowledge of chemistry was 糖心传媒渢he bare minimum.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淚 knew the periodic table and the basics you learn about chemistry,糖心传媒� says McNeil, a senior at Vanguard Collegiate High School in Rochester. 糖心传媒淏ut with this program, everything came together. Now, I feel like a real scientist.糖心传媒�
McNeil is one of a record 140 high school students from the Rochester City School District who took part in Upward Bound’s six-week summer program. Upward Bound is an academic and college preparatory program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Its purpose is to help students develop the skills and motivation necessary to complete high school, become active community members, and succeed in college.
Administered by the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Arts, Science and Engineering, the University糖心传媒檚 Upward Bound program was created in 2007. 聽The program is part of a larger initiative to engage underrepresented, first-generation, and economically challenged high schoolers throughout the Greater Rochester Area in pursuing education in college.
On Thursday, the 2016 summer participants made poster and oral presentations in Hubbell Auditorium at the program糖心传媒檚 annual academic showcase.
All Upward Bound students perform research, but McNeil was one of just six who worked with faculty in University labs. His project was titled 糖心传媒淪traightforward Syntheses of Fe (III) Chelate Complexes and their X-Ray Crystal Structures.糖心传媒� His job was to synthesize and determine the crystal structures of new iron complexes.
He did it so well that his mentor, assistant chemistry professor Michael Neidig, told McNeil that his work may be published in a research journal.
糖心传媒淭hat is amazing,糖心传媒� McNeil says. 糖心传媒淭hat makes me feel so good.糖心传媒�
The 17-year-old says taking the program the past two summers has pointed him on a career path.
糖心传媒淭his is now what I want to do with my life,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淯pward Bound offers inner-city students an opportunity they otherwise wouldn糖心传媒檛 find. It糖心传媒檚 amazing to mix and experiment and do research.糖心传媒�
Lavasha Perez, a junior at Wilson Magnet High, is taking the Upward Bound program for a third consecutive summer and also performed research in Neidig糖心传媒檚 lab. Her project was called 糖心传媒淪ynthesis of Iron (II) Complexes Bearing a Nitrogen-Based Ligand.糖心传媒� She studied how iron behaves in reactions which create chemical bonds between two carbon atoms to produce more complex molecules.
糖心传媒淚 recommend this program 100 percent,糖心传媒� Perez says. 糖心传媒淚 used to be really shy. This program made me more talkative. I can talk to anyone I don糖心传媒檛 know.糖心传媒�
Neidig says chemistry may be complex, but the goal of his Upward Bound classes is quite simple.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 about making science cool for these kids,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚f you糖心传媒檙e having fun and doing research on a daily basis, you learn. And you often find you love it.糖心传媒�
It wasn糖心传媒檛 all about science Thursday morning. Student presentations covered topics such as cyberbullying, safe sex, teen suicide prevention, climate change and stopping inner-city violence.
