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Celebrating our professional volunteers! Carlmont's Biotechnology Institute: A Parent & Community Newsletter

a note from our work-based learning specialist - Faith Velschow

Volume 4 Issue 4

BTI is an amazing combination of wonderful teachers, inquisitive students, a fascinating curriculum, and generous volunteers. In this issue, we will focus on our volunteers who bring so much to enrich the BTI experience. Starting in sophomore year, students participate in a one-day biotech symposium that offers them insight into a variety of biotech careers and professionals. This year, we were lucky to hear from CHS parent, Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Mission Bio. She discussed cancer and the single-cell genomics-based precision medicine that Mission Bio is doing. Her presentation was fascinating, not only because of the audacious slide that said new research predicts that cancer deaths will be eliminated for all under 80 by 2050 but by the level of comprehension and engagement of the students. They were listening, asking questions, and thoughtful. Afterward, they moved online to meet with other professionals, and students commented on how informational and inspirational the event was and that it offered them guidance on which area of science they might want to pursue.

Volunteers, whether they participate in a one-day symposium or our 7-month-long mentor program during junior year, always tell me the same thing, "I wish I had something like this when I was their age." and I can't agree more! How lucky are these students? There are so many different career paths our BTI students can take, and through these relationships, they get greater insight and direction. Many of the jobs they eventually have may not even exist today, but the information they are gathering will help them to develop those pathways and roles. For me, work-based learning, actually hearing about what a professional does on a day-to-day basis, the pros & cons of their job, and their own educational and career journeys can be the most influential information because it's hard to be what you don't know exists. Our BTI Mentors represent a wide range of scientific careers and specialties and are truly some of the nicest people. They make a big, positive impact on BTI students. The one mentor that makes me the proudest is one that had a mentor himself at CHS many years ago. I hope that today's students will remember the time spent with these mentors and influence others in the future. Thank you to all of the volunteers mentioned in today's edition—we couldn't do this without you! - Faith

*** So, go grab a latte, sit in a comfy chair and enjoy this edition which features and honors all of our professional volunteers who add so much value to our BTI students' education and development! It also showcases the amazing accomplishments of our sophomores and juniors who presented their spring-semester cross-curricular projects! Note: The next edition will showcase our graduating BTI seniors. ***

Professional development programs

Sophomore biotech symposium

Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Mission Bio

On March 18, 2022, Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer at Mission Bio and a Carlmont High School parent was the keynote speaker for the Sophomore BTI Symposium. She discussed cancer research and Mission Bio’s single-cell genomics-based precision medicine. After her presentation, BTI students broke out into small groups, via Zoom, and chatted with a whole host of biotechnology professionals who discussed their educational path, careers, and contributions as well as answered questions from our BTI teens. We are so grateful for their time and enthusiasm in presenting just a peek into a world of career possibilities to our sophomores. A huge thank you to the following presenters:

Professional mentors

Mentor breakfast - BTI Juniors

Carlmont's BTI Mentor Program for juniors is a truly meaningful professional development program. With the extraordinary efforts of Faith Velschow, Sequoia Union High School's Work-Based Learning Specialist, each BTI junior is matched with a professional who shares his/her/their potential career interest. This seven-month program kicks off in the fall with the Mentor Breakfast event. This year, only students were able to enjoy the delectable breakfast treats! ... ongoing Covid safety measures you know.

After breakfast, BTI juniors were introduced to their mentors via Zoom. Over the course of the year, students had monthly meetings with their mentors focusing on professional communication skills (oral and written). Their mentors reviewed their resumes that they created in their English 3 class and taught them job interview skills through a mock job interview. Most exciting for many students is the job shadow opportunity at their mentor's workplace. This mentor program is yet another opportunity for BTI students to acquire career skills and have real hands-on experiences to better understand and consider many career opportunities.

a huge thank-you to our 2021-2022 mentors!

Mentor Breakfast Photos

Job shadowing

This year's job shadowing included a mixture of in-person ...

... and Zoom

educational field trips

Cytomx Therapeutics

Each year, CytomX Therapeutics generously invites the BTI juniors to tour their facilities and meet with their professionals. When the pandemic struck, CytomX was determined to continue the experience virtually. They created a video tour of their labs and offices; organized a keynote speaker to talk about the company's mission to reinvent therapeutic antibodies for cancer treatment; and got students into breakout rooms to talk with staff about their individual career paths and roles at CytomX. This was an exciting, up-close view into advances in the field of biotechnology and cancer treatment! How cool is that?

California academy of science

bti sophomores and juniors

This year BTI students were able to resume some in-person field trips. The highlight of the year was the annual visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Both sophomores and juniors enjoyed a full day of fun, facts, and food! In this case, a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look!

Just chillin'

And chowing down

And chillaxing!

thoughts from BTI Students

How has BTI helped you explore and prepare for potential college and career paths?

WITH GRATITUDE your financial support is needed

giving Day - $20,000 needs to be raised to meet our goal of $50,000

As mentioned before, a fully funded BTI program requires $150,000 per year. Thanks to Sequoia Union High School District, at least half that amount is funded every year. The rest is raised by corporate donations, grants, and contributions by BTI parents through CAF. Our goal is to raise $50,000 this year to cover the cost of many special benefits, especially the cost associated with BTI's ability to have two dedicated sections of Biotechnology 3-4. This allows the BTI juniors to enjoy their own unique biotechnology curriculum and smaller class sizes. Currently, we have raised around $30,000. Please consider donating to BTI through CAF to meet our 2021-2022 goal. When donating, there is a drop-down menu to select your level of support that funds our BTI program. You can allocate up to 90% of your donation to BTI. Thank you.

BTI's Socials extraordinaire

Save the date - upcoming events

  • April 26: Senior Bonding Day: Red Door Escape Room
  • April 29: Welcome, Class of 2025 Pizza Party
  • May 13: Mentor End-of-the-Year Event
  • May 20: It's-It: The Last Social Event of the School Year
  • June 1: BTI Class of 2022 Graduation

Share the love

Well... let's just say, the title says it all! Sweet treats and card-making for Valentine’s week. XOXOXO

aPRIL cEREAL BAR

Frosted Flakes! Lucky Charms! Cheerios! What better way to relax and unwind than to have a giant bowl of cereal at the cereal bar. BTI students enjoyed every kind of cereal Costco sells and milk from every plant and animal! Breakfast of champions here at Carlmont's BTI social!

BTI Club

egg drop

Humm...What is BTI Club up to? They call it the Egg Drop. Could it be a science experiment? An Easter egg hunt? An EGGstravaganza event? or ... humm... you decide. Take a look!

science success - bti students' accomplishments

English 2 - sophomores - Biotech research projects

English 2 students spent the quarter researching an application of biotechnology. They presented projects to the senior cohort during their Government classes. This is just one example of how a cross-curricular program can solicit fantastic results. These are the most impressive topics...who knew of all of the creative and mind-bending research that is taking place in the biotech world...oh yea... our BTI students know! Take a look!

Biotechnology 4/English 3 projects

Biotechnology 4 students gained new lab skills by making a novel, environmentally-friendly household cleaner. Then in English 3, they created a marketing ad campaign for their products. The juniors presented these projects to the sophomores in Biotechnology 2. Once again, this is creative ingenuity in action! Take a look!

BUILDING A bti PARENT COMMUnITY

Parents - Join IN!

  • FUND RAISING
  • GRANTS/CORPORATE DONATIONS
  • BECOME A MENTOR NEXT YEAR
  • SPEAK AT OUR SOPHOMORE SYMPOSIUM NEXT YEAR
  • JOIN THE BTI DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
  • GIVE US A LEAD FOR A FIELD TRIP TO A BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANY
  • DONATE SUPPLIES
  • YOU TELL US YOUR IDEAS! WE LOVE IDEAS!

GRANTS/CORPORATE DONATIONS

BTI parents, please check with your employers to see if they participate in donation matching or are open to providing a donation to the BTI program. One parent wrote a letter to their corporate office with supporting information, including a link to the newsletter, and was able to secure a $2000 to $3000 donation each year. Give it a go! It is usually the combination of corporate and parental donations that allows us to meet our financial goal each year. Thank you.

other ways you can help

  • If you have access to supplies that can be donated to our science labs, contact Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org.
  • If your company can provide a field trip for next year, contact Ms. Gold at sgold@seq.org, or Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org.
  • If you have fund-raising experience and ideas, we would love to hear them!
  • If you have other ways to help, just let us know!

contact information

  • Directors of BTI: Ms. Abdilla at jabdilla@seq.org and Ms. Gold at sgold@seq.org
  • Director of Mentoring & Work-Based Learning: Faith Velschow at fvelschow@seq.org 650-464-1162
  • President of the BTI Development Committee: Kevin Marks at kevin.marks@comcast.net
  • Senior Parent Class Rep - Jennifer della Gatta - jennifer@sfdays.com
  • Junior Parent Class Rep - Jenna Tekiel - jennatekiel@outlook.com
  • Sophomore Parent Class Rep - Lisa Wong - land.lisaw@gmail.com
  • BTI/CAF Liaison - Laura Bierwagen - laurabierwagen@comcast.net

go bti scots!