MICDS will once again have a record-setting number of student participants in the prestigious STARS (Students and Teachers as Research Scientists) program this summer. A truly impressive 19 members of the Class of 2017 – more than 10 percent of the class – were accepted into this highly competitive program. Out of 100 students in the entire STARS program, our rising seniors and two graduates in the STARS research associate program will make up 20 percent of the program’s participants this summer.
“I am thrilled to see our students becoming increasingly excited about research and deeply proud of their selection for this program,” said Lisa Lyle, MICDS Head of School. “Our impressive participation numbers make it clear that more and more students are exceptionally well-served by our curriculum both at the accelerated and regular level.”
Sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL), STARS pairs academically talented high school students with more than 60 scientists who work in fields such as biology, chemistry, computer science, earth science, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, medicine, physics and psychology.
The Class of 2017 is the first class to have experienced MICDS’ new Upper School STEM curriculum. Six students took the Science 10 course, and 12 students took the Science 10 Math Intensive course (now called Science 10 Accelerated).
“We believe this surge in interest and 100 percent acceptance rate into STARS is a significant indicator of the success of our new STEM program, even in its infancy. The MICDS science and mathematics faculty and programs are inspiring students to become scientists outside of the classroom, and that is certainly what we have set out to do!,” said Bob Shaw, MICDS JK-12 Science Department Chair.
Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2017 who have been accepted into the STARS Program:
Abdullah Almousalli
Nidhi Bhaskar
Rohit Chouhan
Alex Curylo
Caroline Dong
Niema Foroughi
Shane Isaak
Vignesh Janardhanam
Nikki Kasal
Abinaya Lakshmanan
Cameron Macones
Sarah Mirkhaef
Alyssa Ogle
Anjali Pante
Jacob Platin
Amaan Qazi
Samantha Sansone
Sanchita Sen
Trisha Venkatesh
STARS Research Associates
Rebekah Greenspan ’16
Nicole Howard ’16