During the summer of 2021, several Benjamin students participated in different science programs or internships. Each student worked hard to learn about an individual science topic that they are interested in or possibly want to pursue a career in. 

These students attended for up to two or more weeks. While some took place in person, others were virtual. Each program immersed students in the scientific world, learning about things such as medicine, healthcare, disease, neuroscience, computer science, and more. 

Students presented what they learned from attending the science programs on google slides that they worked on during their time there. These presentations were presented in Benjamin Hall to sophomores and seniors. Other grades watched virtually from their advisory. 

Junior Tati Georgas 

“In my presentation I discussed the daily activities of my program and my living situation. I had a single dorm room and made many friends from all over the nation coming from many different backgrounds. There, I participated in the Medicine and Health Care program. I underwent medical simulations and lectures such as Heart 101 class, suturing, giving an injection, taking blood, watching a coronary artery bypass, learning how to approach a patient and what to say to the patient, trips to D.C. monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington monument, learning about medical ethics, and learning how to utilize laparoscopic surgery tools. This experience benefitted me overall because it really gave me a better perspective of what the medical field is like and encouraged 213me to continue down that path. I am very motivated and although it is a long road it is worth it to help other people. This program gave me great insight and inspiration and I grew as a leader and I am so happy I attended it. Through attending the Medicine and Health Care program, I learned that there is so much more to medicine than academics. Although it does take a determined student to enter the medical field, the student must be a compassionate, caring, and approachable individual that has a true desire to help others, rather than simply being motivated by materialistic things such as money. The program made me realize that I could have a real impact on the world and expanded my love for medicine in science.”

Junior Skyler Malmberg 

“In my presentation, I talked about my overall experience of taking the class even though I could not go in-person. I gave a summary of each of the five modules that all focused on different aspects of disease. I finished my presentation by talking about my final project which was a video project tracing the disease tetanus. This overall experience was beneficial as it expanded my knowledge on a topic I was previously interested in and increased my want to study this type of science.”

Senior Jack Horgen 

“I studied the biotechnology investing sector which led to AI uses in imaging, language processing, for data identification/organization, and mainly protein folding, which was also aided by quantum computing. I did it in Connecticut in July. I had to research trends in the biotechnology market, then different AI worked in sectors – imagine recognition and natural language processing – and protein folding works which also lead to quantum computing research. I also had to look at specific companies and their investment data like investment size, shareholders, expected growth, company management etc. This opportunity allowed me to pursue my interest in science. I was able to have a general knowledge of protein folding from Ms. Szeliga and quantum processes from Dr. Koures and now I am taking a class in quantum physics from  mr. alley. I would definitely recommend this internship to other students; it was a great experience. Seeing how what you can learn in school relates to the real world and technological advancement really makes you motivated to learn as much as you can.”

Senior Jake Zur

“My internship was over the summer at Max Planck Institute for Neuroscience where I was a computer scientist in their lab. The internship was 6 weeks over the summer but they hired me afterwards to continue the work I did for the lab during my internship. I wrote data analysis algorithms in Python, Java, and the ImageJ macro language. These algorithms would analyze images that the neurosciences got from their experiments, quantify the images into usable data, and predict trends to help them make conclusions from their experiments. I’m really glad I did this internship and all the self-taught content, the hours of researching all the different coding languages, it all paid off in this experience.”

Junior Keira Hodum

“My topic was Neuroscience. I did a 5-day class this past summer online (due to Covid) through Georgia State University’s Center for Behavioral Neuroscience.Over the course of 5 days, we focused on different neurological diseases and deficits and their effects on the brain and body. These included brain scans, depression, schizophrenia, movement disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and opioid abuse. In order to complete the class, we participated in live lectures from a variety of the CBN’s researchers, did reading and activities on our own during the day, and had homework assignments on what we learned during the day. After taking honors biology and honors chemistry my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I felt prepared for the science aspect of the class. The leadership roles I’ve been given at Benjamin also gave me the confidence to speak up during the lectures. I would recommend that others pursue this internship. It helped give me a basis of a career I would consider pursuing in college, and it showed me that it’s something I genuinely enjoy learning about.” 

Sophomore Matias Saiz

“I did a course pertaining to Computer Science in UPenn. I did it during the summer for three weeks. During those three weeks, my work mainly consisted of Python and Data Science. We also had to build different software with different specifications. Benjamin helped me by giving me a good science foundation and advancing my Computer Science skills. I think that if you like Computer Science and think that you want to further your knowledge of the topic I think this might be an interesting opportunity.”