High school interns explore science and research careers in a college setting

By Mariana Shaffer, agricultural communication and marketing, BS '26 

Every week during the 2025-26 academic year, ten Twin Cities high schoolers traded their classrooms for research labs, greenhouses, a poultry barn and graduate seminars, getting an early look at what careers in science actually look like. Starting in October, these students were embedded in five CFANS departments: Animal Science; Soil, Water and Climate; Horticultural Science; and Food Science and Nutrition as part of year-long internships pairing them with faculty and staff members. Once a week, they joined ongoing projects, attended seminars, and participated in lab work, learning first-hand what working in science and research entails.

Understanding the importance of hands-on learning from a young age, faculty and staff were eager to educate and mentor high school students, introducing them to potential career paths they might never have otherwise encountered. Pedro Urriola’s Sustainable Livestock Systems Lab in the Department of Animal Science is one of the groups that hosted interns, with Samira Chatila, a postdoctoral associate (sociologist) in the lab, serving as the primary mentor for youth interns.
 
"Engaging youth early on is important because you never know what specifically leaves an impression," Chatila said. Both students she worked with took part in a wide range of learning experiences, from attending graduate-level seminars and completing Pork Quality Assurance certification to supporting interview transcription and lab work. "The interns were successful in helping me contribute to one of the studies that we're doing for CFANS, which is the first-year experience pilot evaluation study. They were among the transcribers for that study," Chatila shared. Through this program, students encounter graduate students, educators, veterinarians, sociologists, animal nutritionists, farm workers, and dozens of other professionals, all connected through the study of food, agricultural and natural resource sciences.

Each pair of students had different goals and tasks, but all were immersed in hands-on research. Anup Kollanoor Johny, a professor and director of graduate studies for the animal science graduate program, worked with students in a poultry food safety microbiology lab. "The interns had lots of things to learn here," he said. "Like in any lab that handles microbes, they needed to know the personal protective equipment, how we prepare the nutrient media to grow the bacterial cultures, the aseptic techniques, differentiating bacteria and counting them and how to extract DNA and RNA from tissues." Like most of the faculty and staff hosting students, Kollanoor Johny had not worked with high schoolers since his postdoctoral days. For him and his team, the experience turned out to be deeply rewarding.

Dominic Petrella, associate professor of turfgrass systems, hosted two students from Great River School. "The students completed greenhouse tasks like propagating plant material, collecting data on experiments, and utilizing equipment to measure plant health," Petrella said. "One student is a golfer, and she had no clue that plant science and golf come together. I think now she sees that, and she's rethinking where she sees herself, because she can combine two passions." Petrella didn't discover his own career field until he was 25, and he hopes that by giving students this early exposure, they can find their direction sooner than he did.

The students haven't just been observers — they've contributed meaningfully to real research. Kat LaBine, lab manager at the Soil Health Lab, tasked her interns with a two-hour aggregate stability process involving a series of sieves and wet sieving used to measure soil health. "I feel really good about the quality of data I'm getting from them," LaBine said. For many of these students, the internship may be their first real signal that a career in science is something they can picture themselves in. And for the faculty and staff who opened their labs and research to a new generation, the experience was a reminder that young people are passionate and curious about science.