Science Ambassadors
The Oregon National Primate Research Center is home to the Science Ambassadors program, a program that recruits 18 high school students from Beaverton-area high schools to act as mentors for 18 fifth graders (“mentees”) each year. High school Science Ambassador Mentors gain valuable organizational and social skills, in addition to learning about cutting-edge biomedical science on the campus of a world-class research facility.
The Science Ambassadors program is designed to expose both the high school mentors and the fifth grade students to science through hands-on activities. Through this program we hope to inspire students to continue to study science throughout high school and perhaps choose to pursue careers in science.
High school mentors are expected to attend weekly meetings (held on Wednesdays, from 4-6 p.m.). All meetings are held at the Primate Center. At one meeting, mentors hear from a Center scientist about his/her work. Additional meetings are dedicated to planning and implementing both hands-on science activities and social interaction activities for the 5th graders.
Meetings with the fifth grade students are the focus of a great deal of time and energy. High school mentors are divided into groups, and each group is responsible for planning and organizing the activities for a particular month. This may require work outside of the regular meeting times, so Science Ambassador mentors must be responsible and highly motivated. (High school student mentor commitment is for a minimum of one school year.)
In addition to planning monthly activities for the fifth grader “mentees,” high school mentors are expected to maintain an e-mail/telephone/US mail relationship with their assigned student and his/her parents, sending reminders about meetings, and checking in occasionally to be sure that the student is enjoying the program.
Each fall, high school-aged students are invited to apply to become mentors. Contact Diana Gordon at gordondi@ohsu.edu or (503) 690-5201 for more information or application materials. High School "Mentor" applications for the 2009-2010 school year are due October 30th. 2009-2010 5th Grade "Mentee" applications are due November 13th.
View the MENTOR application
View the MENTEE application
