Academy of Sciences has first graduates

JDCHS

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Crystal Chau, Alexandra Ikeda, Katherine McIntire and Adrian Shimpi have graduated from Juan Diego's Academy of Sciences program, and will go on to pursue science degrees in college. Photo courtesy of JDCHS

DRAPER — Four Juan Diego Catholic High School graduates from the Class of 2012 are the first to graduate from the school’s Academy of Sciences program.

Crystal Chau, Alexandra Ikeda, Katherine McIntire and Adrian Shimpi completed course credits in advanced science classes, conducted independent research and will continue working towards a science career in college.

The Academy of Sciences has been underway for the last five years at JDCHS with support of the Skaggs Foundation to encourage students to see the sciences as a future career option, said Dr. Christine Celestino, Juan Diego science teacher and department chair.

Celestino has a bachelor’s degree in biophysics from the University of New York State at Geneseo and a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Utah. She began teaching at Juan Diego in 2006.

"Students know about being a medical doctor, a teacher or an engineer, and other than that they really do not know what a person does with a science degree," Celestino said. "So for the last five years we’ve added more advanced courses and established an internship program."

Students have interned for the University of Utah College of Pharmacy for four years, this year an internship with Intermountain Health Care was added, Celestino said. "The pharmacy is an interdisciplinary department, which studies medications but also works with cancer and other human diseases. There is a huge range of opportunities for students."

Student interns are paired with a biomedical sciences researcher and are assigned a research project to complete over the summer.

Chau participated in the internship program for two summers and thought the experience was educational, she said. "The first summer I worked in a chemistry lab doing enzyme work. The second summer I researched what happens to the brains of rats when they become addicted to methamphetamines. The idea was to understand why it is so difficult for people to get over addictions and why they relapse."

McIntire had a great experience doing her internship, she said. At the University of Utah she measured Tylenol in people’s bloodstreams after they had been on the medication for a long period of time. "It was fun to work with real scientists and work in the lab," she said. "Now I am going to study biochemistry."

For Shimpi the program opened up a new experience: After his internship, he was asked to stay on as an employee at the University of Utah for a year. His research on leukemia involved adding DNA to leukemia cells to make them self-destruct in a Petri dish.

"Participating in the academy cemented the fact that I will major in bioengineering," he said.

The academy gave Ikeda an opportunity to conduct breast cancer research, which she said runs in her family. "My mentor taught me how to use the lab and gave me a research project based on gene therapy," she said. "I’ve always known I wanted to go into a medical field so this was a good experience to define what I wanted to do. I am going to major in nursing and then go on to the physician’s assistant program at the University of Utah."

Interns are expected to work at least 30 hours a week, said Celestino. "Over the course of the full internship they have to complete at least 200 hours. This is a learning experience for the students in managing a job, and one of the things we teach in the classroom is planning out their time and holding them accountable."