CLEVELAND — When you think of a high school science class, you might think of a textbook. In public schools, hands-on opportunities to study science can be scarce.
Marissa Scavuzzo, an award-winning researcher at Case Western Reserve University, is hoping to increase the amount students interested in STEM.
“During my PhD, my doctorate training in science, I was sitting at dinner with a bunch of friends and I was talking about my first job experience in a restaurant when I was, like, 15,” Scavuzzo said. “And, I realized nobody else at the table had stories to share because they all worked unpaid internships or had other opportunities.”
That moment stuck with her.
“There is a glass floor in science careers, so unless your parents make over a certain amount, it’s incredibly difficult for you to break into those careers and even access them,” Scavuzzo said.
In 2019, she co-founded Rise Up: Northeast Ohio alongside her husband, Andrew Scavuzzo.
The nonprofit brings over 100 professional scientists to Cleveland Metropolitan School District classrooms through its “Life as a Scientist” program. The volunteers help the students learn what it takes to become a scientist by guiding them through the development of their own science experiments during a year-long course.
“It’s entirely following their curiosity, so they get to feel empowered that they have important questions to ask,” Scavuzzo said. “And they get to see the results in live time.”
The students tackle real-world problems, from studying traumatic brain injuries through ants to studying cancer in fruit flies. By the end of the program, students walk away as published authors and hopefully with the knowledge, they too can become scientists.