Juan Diego CHS science teacher receives governor's recognition for her work

Friday, Apr. 10, 2015

DRAPER — Dr. Christine Fogarty Celestino, Juan Diego Catholic High School science instructor and department chair, will be honored with a Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology April 15 at the Masonic Temple in Salt Lake City.

The Governor’s Medal award program recognizes those who have provided notable service or made significant career achievements that have benefitted the State of Utah in the areas of science and technology. This year, awards will be given in the categories of academic, science education for industry and individual (independent inventors and entrepreneurs) and industry/company (for-profit or non-profit).

Celestino developed the Juan Diego Academy of Sciences and created a summer internship program for high school students. She has taught science at Juan Diego since 2006. Her quest to attract students to the sciences began long before STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) was a popular acronym, said Molly Dumas, Juan Diego public information officer. 

In 2006, Celestino began forming alliances between various University of Utah colleges, local corporations and foundations to sponsor more in-depth student exploration of the sciences such as Brain Awareness Week with the School of Medicine, summer science internships that involve lab research with the College of Pharmacy, and Engineering Day with the College of Engineering, said Dumas. 

In 2008, in partnership with The ALSAM Foundation, Celestino developed an Academy of Sciences track at Juan Diego. This offered accelerated courses, extracurricular offerings, summer camps, independent research and competitions, culminating in the introduction of a specialized Academy of Sciences diploma in 2012.

Celestino “insisted that the programming under the Academy of Sciences umbrella be more than advanced placement classes,” said Dumas. “Every initiative had to be expansive, engaging, experiential and challenging to young people. Most notably, the programs she developed have attracted a large percentage of girls and minorities, many who have continued their studies in the STEM fields at universities throughout the country.” 

Since 2009, 38 Juan Diego sophomore, junior and senior students have enrolled in summer science internships with the University of Utah College of Pharmacy, said Dumas. 

“Some were participating in college graduate-level research before they had a driver’s license,” Dumas said. “Pre-med Club students have explored career tracks, and participated in a drill with Lone Peak Hospital to simulate earthquake evacuation and MEDEVAC unit relocation to the school campus. The Environmental Club and AP Earth Science students run a recycling/composting program and study climatology with a Weatherbug station. Students are launching a clean air/no idling campaign to reduce the state’s inversion.”

Additionally, Celestino initiated and annually leads the STEM Curriculum Development Symposiums, and shares best practices during in-services with science faculty for all 16 Utah Catholic schools, said Dumas.

“Hundreds of students vie for enrollment in Dr. Celestino’s classes and/or participation in the Academy of Sciences programs,” said Dumas. “She teaches the ethics of medical advances as well as the techniques. Twenty Juan Diego students have earned Academy of Sciences Distinction upon graduation since 2011.”

The summer internship is an eight-week research program; the students receive basic training in laboratory techniques at Juan Diego and then work a part-time job at the University of Utah College of Pharmacy on their own research project performing biomedical research, Celestino said. “We have had three students publish papers in academic medical journals and many students who have been hired as research assistants in the lab after their internship has ended. In the last two years, students have presented their research projects at the regional science fair; this year we won 11 awards, with one student who will go to the international science fair in Pittsburgh. In the most recent years, all of the students participating have pursued science degrees in college.”