NSU Horizons Spring 2016

6 NSU HORIZONS undergraduate levels to expand the program to more teachers and schools. Alumni, students, and teachers praise all those who have been so dedicated to Science Alive!, includ- ing Halmos College professors Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D.; Robert Smith, Ph.D.; and James Munoz, Ph.D., and NSU’s College of Psychology professors Leanne Boucher, Ph.D., and Mindy Ma, Ph.D. In Schmitt Lavin’s office are scrapbooks overflowing with flyers, countless thank-you notes, drawings from the young participants, and letters from NSU alumni. There is no greater satisfaction, said Schmitt Lavin, “than when a college student is so turned on to science education, in part from their involvement with this program, that they become science teachers themselves.” This includes Megan Flora (M.S., 2012). “I love how Science Alive! allows my high school students to share what they know with younger students,” said Flora, who now teaches at Piper High School in Fort Lauderdale. Even a STEM instructional coach for Broward County—Javeshnev (Aimee) Rivera-Azua (B.S., 2007)— said, “Science Alive! has allowed me to extend my professional career network, and to offer many hands- on activities that have exposed minority groups to the beauty of STEM concepts.” Nergess Taheri (B.S., 2011) was a volunteer with Science Alive! at that first spaghetti dinner when she was working on her biology degree. Now a third-year student in NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, Taheri is participating again. “With Science Alive! children can really see that learning is fun and that science isn’t just a simple class in school, but a lifestyle that opens doors for the future,” she said. Kaitlin Donovan (B.S., 2014), now a student at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, was involved with Science Alive! at NSU and published a journal article about her experience. “Science Alive! greatly influenced my undergraduate career, as well as my future career as a dentist. Working with children, faculty members, fellow classmates, and the Broward County School District taught me how important it is for science professionals to be deeply involved in every school in the country,” she said. “Almost every child I met expressed an infectious fervor for education, which was a constant reminder that we are pav- ing the way for future generations.” Martha Puglisi, M.A., has used the Science Alive! “salt racers” experiment at Science Day at NSU’s University School. Schmitt attended “as an honored guest.” Not only were the children amused by marbles rising via the friction of salt, but Puglisi said she felt satisfaction that the two NSU institutions could share such synchronicity.