NSU Horizons Spring 2016

5 NSU HORIZONS she is delighted with how far it has come. “When I think of the connections we have made and the number of people who have enjoyed their time in school a little more due to this program, I feel happy that I had something to do with this,” she said. “When a student tells me that participating in Science Alive! was a highlight of their college experience, and even my own children think that science is fun, I feel proud.” It’s very rewarding, she added, “when NSU students tell me they talked about their experience with Science Alive! during graduate school interviews— and feel that the experience they gained helped them stand out among other applicants.” Nova Blanche Elementary School, a public school near NSU’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie Campus, illustrates how well the program works. NSU sophomore Valentina Ramirez, a biology major, organizes the effort there, working with Schmitt Lavin and STEM teacher Michele Parsons. They’ve tailored a program, called SuperNovas, and it serves an average of 150 students each week. At Nova Blanche, Ramirez enlists about 25 NSU student volunteers to present 24 demonstrations, working alongside Schmitt Lavin, Parsons, and other Nova Blanche staff members. The children are divided into eight groups, with eight different subject areas. “Each area has three experiments,” said Ramirez, with areas from solar and wind power to crime scene investigation (CSI). The NSU volunteers are from a cross-section of the university’s science and math programs— including undergraduates, grad- uate students, and alumni—and Ramirez matches their specialty with the subject areas. The children also watch a presentation about NSU. “Getting all this done each week can be a challenge,” said Ramirez, who began the program at Nova Blanche last October with fellow student LeiVaughn Lyn (B.S., 2014), who is preparing to attend pharmacy school. But for Ramirez and the other NSU students, the rewards are huge. “It’s a rush of adrenaline every time we go, at least it is for me,” said Ramirez. “Just imagine 150 pairs of little eyes filled with anticipation as you walk into the cafeteria and they say ‘Yay, science buddies are here!’ ” COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT That’s the side of Science Alive! that is giving back to the community. The other, of equal value as Schmitt Lavin and other faculty members point out, is the tremendous boon to the NSU volunteers themselves. They develop incalculable skills in their own development, from public speak- ing to academic performance. “You’ve no idea how daunting it is to explain a scientific principle to a small child. And they ask good questions. You must know your stuff,” said Aarti Raja, Ph.D., an assistant professor at NSU Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography. Raja’s office often contains paper bags full of supplies for the afternoon session at Miami Lakes Elementary School. Five NSU students and Nicole Porther, Ph.D., M.P.H., a professor, recently helped her in an experiment that the children get really excited about: capturing their own DNA. GONE GLOBAL The most far-flung effort of Science Alive! takes place in India, and that is Raja’s brainchild. Each summer, she and her family return to her hometown of Bangalore where her mother, who is an English teacher there, asked if she would consider doing a version of the Science Alive! program. The Bangalore science teachers loved the idea. So Raja, without any NSU stu- dents to assist, improvised, teaching the drill to a group of 9th and 10th grade students. They then teach the younger kids—and in the process—better understand the materials themselves. Schmitt Lavin keeps meticulous records of the program’s progress and hopes to find grant money to grow it. She would love to provide some type of paid position for students at the graduate and