HSD Students Build Community Through Science at the CLIMB Program

(Photo/Derik Holtmann, UMSL)

For over six weeks, five Hazelwood School District students — Charlotte (Charlie) Saunders and Imani Mu’ Min from East High, Vajah Bassett from West High, and graduates Jolaade Bada from Central High and Makayla Glenn from West High —  participated in the Collaborative Laboratory Internship for Mentoring Blueprint (CLIMB) program at the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) campus.

CLIMB started as a partnership between UMSL and Jennings High School and now serves students from Hazelwood, University City, Ritenour, and Riverview Gardens. Currently in its 11th summer, the paid internship offers students the opportunity to join research groups in chemistry, biology, physics, psychology, education, math, and computer science, from Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, students focused on career development, college and scholarship applications, college funding, and improving presentation skills. 

Second-year CLIMB participant and recent West graduate, Makayla Glen, raved about her learning experience within the program, emphasizing its mentorship and how it has prepared her for her first year at Grand Canyon University as a Biomedical Sciences/pre-med major. 

(Photo/Bethany Zolman, UMSL) 

“I love the connections CLIMB provided us with through the directors, the ambassadors, and the head of UMSL, who checked in on us regularly,” Makayla shared. “The lab assistants were as friendly as our mentors were to us. We learned so much from them.” Makayla added, “We did Zoom meetings with two or three previous interns, and they talked to us about resumes, any questions about college life, high school life, what track you should be on if you’re interested in a specific subject. I liked that about the program. They helped us with our lab presentations and even with Excel. I knew nothing about Excel, and now I have so many tips to use in college, and I am so excited!”  

(Photo/Derik Holtmann, UMSL) 

For East High senior and dual-enrollment student Charlotte “Charlie” Saunders, joining CLIMB at the recommendation of her biology teacher pushed her to make a last-minute decision to participate instead of attending a summer camp. Additionally, Charlie’s longstanding interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) influenced by her family of engineers, and her desire to pursue a career in medicine since childhood, solidified her decision to pursue the summer internship.

“I wanted to join CLIMB to make sure I did not hate being in a lab because this is something I want to do for the rest of my life," Charlie shared. “I didn’t hate, I greatly enjoyed what I did, so this experience has been reassuring.” Charlie detailed, “I learned a lot of lab skills. I learned a lot about lab etiquette, dos and don’ts, the different levels of sterilization, regular skills like pipetting, using a centrifuge, and a lot of terminology. It has been fun!” 

Central High graduate and Washington University freshman, Jolaade Bada, came into CLIMB interested in experiencing what research was about to prepare for Washington University, a private research university. 

“I am a pre-med major, and I desire to work in public health,” Jolaade explained. “I had shadowed in hospitals, but I never got to see medical research and what takes place in the labs in the hospitals. Coming to CLIMB was a welcoming process. Everyone was ready to answer questions, making it easy for me.” Jolaade added, “Luckily, I got placed into a medical research lab. I think it is interesting to see how things work on a molecular level and explore how we can use things like E. coli or create plasmids to make a difference in people’s health.” 

East High senior and dual-enrollment student Imani Mu’Min was no stranger to STEM internships, with a longstanding interest since middle school in robotics and nature. However, CLIMB offered Imani a much different experience, engaging her interest in science in ways that had never been explored.  

“Coming to CLIMB and trying a lab that was all about science was very different for me,” Imani shared. “This had a great impact on me because usually I am the smartest person in the room, but getting here made me question so much, like what is this word; what is a chloroplast. This internship shaped me, making me think with different sides of my brain that I did not know were possible.” Imani added, “I got to see what it was like for people with Alzheimer’s, the different trials and errors, cell death, growing cells, and the time consumption and precision of temperature when refrigerated. I knew nothing about Alzheimer’s or the different labs. I think that would inspire students from different districts to join CLIMB because they will always need more people in the field.” 

“One of the reasons I like the partnerships we have with our local school districts is that Hazelwood is right next to UMSL,” Dr. Bethany Zolman, CLIMB Director and Biology faculty member, shared. “We have a connection to all of the students, but we have a connection to everybody in the community.” Dr. Zolman added, “Our goal is to expose the students to science, types of research we do here, give them opportunities to see what working in a lab looks like, and give them opportunities to see what being on a college campus looks like daily. It is a way to build community through science and our space.” 

The Hazelwood School District is proud of every CLIMB intern and looks forward to their futures in STEM.