SIUE Students Explore Space and Encourage STEM Learning
Rebecca Krasny’s love of science started at a young age, fueled in part by field trips she took to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Now a sophomore biological sciences major, specializing in medical science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Rebecca returned to the space exploration landmark this summer as a Noyce intern working with the Adler Teen Programs.
“Space science has always held a sort of elusive interest to me,” said Krasny. “It’s something I’ve always found fascinating, but never thought I’d be able to fully understand. The internship at Adler was an amazing opportunity to expand my horizons and allowed me to explore and gain exposure to a topic I hadn’t looked at much recently.”
Krasny, a native of Worth, participated through the Robert J. Noyce Scholarship Science and Math Grants. The grants are funded by the National Science Foundation and provide 14 $2,500 summer internships for 200 hours of in-service training for qualified SIUE freshmen and sophomores and local community college students who are interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers.
Krasny spent two months assisting with the high school summer intern program. Some of her other duties included co-facilitating professional development on the topics of budgeting, resume building and online presence. She also learned to code using Python, used 3D printers and attended lectures given by Adler astronomers.
Noyce intern Ricardo Wells of Chicago, a sophomore majoring in mathematics at SIUE, also spent much of his summer at the Adler Planetarium.
“During my internship, I assisted an instructor with teaching STEM to high school students,” recalled Wells. “The experience opened a door of giving back to people with the value of education. I thoroughly enjoyed enriching the lives of my peers through STEM.”
In the future, Wells plans to utilize his mathematics skills to teach STEM. Krasny aspires to be a pediatrician and open her own practice.
“This internship definitely opened my eyes to opportunities in STEM fields that I hadn’t even realized existed,” Krasny explained. “I discovered that you don’t have to be a teacher to be a part of STEM education. Positions in museums and libraries that allow you to work with teen and youth programs can have just as much, or even more, of an impact on how upcoming generations view STEM.”
The Noyce internships are coordinated through the SIUE STEM Center.
Photo: The Chicago skyline sets the backdrop for Ricardo Wells (far left), Rebecca Krasny (second from right, wearing sunglasses) and other summer interns at Adler Planetarium.
