Students from City Colleges of Chicago got a glimpse into life at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this summer, including a visit to the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL).
The students are part of Enduring Transfer Pathways to Graduate Education in STEM – a collaboration between the Graduate College, the Grainger College of Engineering, and Wilbur Wright College. The program guides students from marginalized groups through their academic careers, including increasing their exposure to graduate education and STEM-related career opportunities.
This year’s group spent one day touring CCIL-led labs and learning about magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at Beckman Institute’s Biomedical Imaging Center.
“These opportunities allow our scholars to envision themselves in graduate school by offering a firsthand look at the cutting-edge research, day-to-day work of graduate and undergraduate students, and the collaborative, innovative environment of a research university,” said Joann Bandales, Assistant Director for Graduate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Graduate College.
The day culminated in roundtable discussions with Illinois student researchers, who provided perspective on their college journeys.
“I really liked learning about other people’s experiences,” said Milena Diaz-Testa, a rising sophomore at Wilbur Wright. “As a community college student transferring here, I’d be overwhelmed trying to do research. I think this really helped me see that it’s doable.”
Editor’s Notes:
This article was written by Jessica Clegg, CCIL Senior Marketing & Outreach Coordinator