Alberta Innovates- Health Solutions

It's probably not every high school student's idea of a great summer hangout. But for serious-minded young people like Denise Ng, the opportunity to spend a chunk of her summer vacation in a research lab beats hanging out at the mall.

The 16-year-old worked in Dr. Linda Reha-Krantz's U of A lab last summer as part of a program giving young women a chance to test their interest in science.

"There's no way you're wasting your time, because you're learning an incredible amount, experiencing what it's like to work in a lab, and exposing yourself to different career options," Denise says. WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology) designed and administers the six-week program as part of its mandate to expose young people to careers in science and research.

Denise was enthusiastic from the start, doing a lot of reading "to get myself up to speed" on genetics and attended regular lab meetings to find out more about Dr. Reha-Krantz's work. "The chance to go into a research lab and do real research that has implications and applications in the practical world really interests me," she says.

When Denise was younger, a supportive biology teacher encouraged the honour student to explore another WISEST program called Choices. This program sends female researchers into the classroom to talk to Grade Six girls about their work.

Dr. Reha-Krantz is also a long-time advocate of getting young people involved in research. The Heritage scientist has worked with WISEST for a number of years and is herself the product of a similar American program. As a teen, she enjoyed a summer of field trips, science classes, and time spent in research labs helped focus the future geneticist's career goals. "I learned from that summer experience that I wanted to pursue a career in research. Until that summer I was planning to become a high-school biology teacher," Dr. Reha-Krantz explains.

It would seem Denise heads down a similar path. She considers research to be where her future lies. "I'm definitely going to be doing something in the sciences," she states. The ambitious teenager plans to pursue her bachelor of science degree and hopes to explore the possibilities beyond that goal. "I'm leaving it wide open right now but I really like research," she says.