When Hispanic Education Outreach Day (HEOD) started 17 years ago, many Latino students did not know that the Argonne National Laboratory existed. Or that people just like them could be scientists and engineers working on projects of national and international interest.
According to Argonne News, Giselle Sandi, who is now operations lead in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering division, recalls when one student was fascinated with the Advanced Photon Source.
“Years later, she wrote to me that she was pursuing a degree in physics, and it all started with that visit that we organized. I felt we accomplished our mission,” Sandi told Argonne.
During the 17th annual HEOD held Oct. 11 at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, students from a high school in Chicago learned about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers for the first time.
According to Argonne, one of their first experiments in a national laboratory included filtering the juice from strawberries and using professional instruments to extract the DNA.
Under the direction of sequencing specialist Stephanie Greenwald, the students discovered how DNA finally separated into an ooze that looked, surprisingly, like snot.
“It was exciting, especially working with different things and how you can learn something new every day,” said Angel Rojas, who was among 37 students who saw firsthand how scientists — many of Hispanic/Latino heritage — perform pivotal research and other work.
Besides participating in experiments, the students networked with scientists, toured facilities, and listened to panel discussions about careers.
For nearly two decades, Argonne and one of its employee resource groups — the Argonne Hispanic/Latino Club, or AHLC ERG — have partnered with local schools in underserved populations to promote careers in STEM.
At the forefront of this effort is the annual HEOD event that gives students a firsthand look inside one of the nation’s premier labs and helps them to envision new career opportunities.
Besides learning how to extract strawberry DNA, the freshmen and sophomores learned about supercomputers, nuclear, and other energy sources.
“We never talk about that in school. So, I was able to learn about the many ways that we get energy,” said Velazquez, who wants to apply for an internship at Argonne and encourage his friends to do it, too.
Students who have attended HEOD over the years have been enthusiastic and inquisitive, Michael D. Kaminski told Argonne. As a senior nuclear chemical engineer in Argonne’s Strategic Security Sciences division and president of AHLC ERG, Kaminski wants to ensure these students get the information they need to succeed.
“When I’ve gone to career days at local schools in the Latino communities, I rarely saw another Latino professional, and almost never saw another scientist, lawyer, or accountant,” said Kaminski. “The people who were going to career days are family members, and they are often blue-collar like my parents and work in those vocations. So, we’re trying to gain more of a presence in these communities and at their events.”
“We need their perspectives, and we need their innovation if we want to be as best as we can be as a nation. We tell them that we want your face at Argonne. We want your ideas and your background to help us solve the most daunting problems that we face as a society,” said Kaminski.
AHLC ERG recently partnered with Wintrust Bank to create four new scholarships for high schools in communities where the bank has branches, including by the Little Village Lawndale High School Campus. AHLC ERG hosts fundraisers for the scholarships. Other AHLC ERG partners include MadMaxMar, El Ranchito, Atotonilco, and other individual donations from Argonne employees.
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