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In January 2016, a group of students from the Seattle School District’s Interagency programs attended an exciting lab and informative talk by Dr. Vasudha Sundaravaradan, a scientist at the (CIDR). Vasudha also leads the , incorporating cutting edge research happening at CIDR into the curriculum. BioQuest Academy’s mission is to educate, train, and promote college-readiness in Washington teens, especially underrepresented groups, on the science of global infectious disease.

Following a tour of the facility led by an intern, a recent college graduate whose first exposure to CIDR was during high school, Interagency students shared some of their insights:

• “Global health is important because we live in a connected world. “
• “Disease has a big impact on our world.”
• “Disease affects communities in many different ways, even economically.”
• “It was interesting to see the configuration of the labs.”
• “There is a freezer in the lab that is set at -76 degrees.”
• “I was surprised at all the different and very expensive equipment we could see.”

Our intern and tour guide credits her participation in a two-week summer immersion program through BioQuest with opening her eyes to the possibility of becoming a scientist.

Participants engaged in a experiment that simulated killing bacteria. Working in pairs, they followed the protocol set up. Some students reported that this was the first time they were fully involved in a lab experiment. Their comments included

• “Don’t give up if the experiment doesn’t work the first time.”
• “Wow, the experimental process is very delicate.”
• “If at first you don’t succeed, try again.”

Students participated in this activity through DO-IT’s and ��������������շ���’s support of , a nationwide effort to promote career development for students with disabilities through hands-on career exploration.