Students visit Michigan Tech in internship program
HOUGHTON, Mich. (AP) — A Watersmeet High School student met with professors and college students at Michigan Technological University recently as part of an internship program aimed at promoting Native American interest in STEM fields.
“My science teacher actually brought it up in class, and I figured, ‘Why not?’” said Watersmeet 11th-grader Assiniis Chosa. “I really do like life science, so it didn’t hurt to come try.”
Because of the pandemic, Chosa had only gotten virtual presentations along with his classmates, according to The Daily Mining Gazette. Five presenters talked to them about careers in natural resources and engineering: Sarah Hoy, a research assistant professor at Tech’s College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; Joan Chadde, director of the MTU Center for Science and Environmental Outreach; Rita Mills, tribal liaison for Hiawatha National Forest; and Watersmeet graduate and mechanical engineer Aurora White.
“Last summer, they couldn’t come to campus, so this is the best we could do, giving them a virtual internship,” Chadde said.
The internship programs can give students a more in-depth knowledge and understanding of the research that goes on at Tech, and also promote interest in conservation, Hoy said.
“I think it’s very important to encourage people to care about the environment, and for people to know what we do,” she said.
The program was supported by a grant from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, along with funding from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Forest Resources & Environmental Science and the Ecosystem Science Center.
The visit included meeting with Hoy as well as assistant professor Kristin Brzeski, who gave a tour of the building and discussed conservation...