OLD TOWN — Andrew Moreira, a senior in the Honors Diploma Program and the STEM Leaders Diploma Program at Old Town High School, recently earned first place in the High School Poster Competition at the 2015 Maine Sustainability and Water Conference.
Moreira’s poster, “Recovering Organic Acids from Water Through Extraction and Precipitation,” derives from the research he conducted through his Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR, internship with Dr. Peter van Walsum at the University of Maine.
Maine EPSCoR at the University of Maine is a program that fosters research and development in the STEM disciplines in under-represented and underserved states such as Maine. It provides Maine high school students with a paid, hands-on opportunity to participate in cutting edge research with faculty, postdoctoral students and graduate students at the University of Maine. Students can gain real-world experience in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. The research experience provides an excellent opportunity to explore potential STEM careers, learn new skills, and gain valuable work experience in research, program officials said.
Internships are an integral requirement of the new STEM Leaders Diploma Program at Old Town High School. The purpose of the internship is to expand upon and deepen student learning through real world and authentic, hands-on experiences under the guidance of an expert or professional in a STEM field. Last summer STEM Leaders participated in internships at Mount Desert Island Biological Labs, EPSCoR at the University of Maine, the Bio-Medical Engineering Advance Robotic Lab at the University of Maine, and the Life Care Center of Nashoha Valley focusing on physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Some examples of internships lined up for this summer and next year include five students participating in the University of Maine’s Stormwater Management Research Team program, two student internships with EPSCoR and one student internship with professors in the field of marine biology at the University of Maine, just to name a few.
Rad Mayfield, science teacher at Old Town High School, and Kim Ketch, Resource Teacher/ and STEM opportunities coordinator, also will participate in the SMART program as teacher mentors and will attend the SMART Institute this summer along with the student interns.
Several STEM leaders will earn pre-internship hours at the University of Maine’s Consider Engineering program and Eastern Maine Medical Center’s Student Volunteer Program this summer.