The PittBio Outreach Program, created by the Department of Biological Sciences in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences has shaped the way for many young STEM students over the years, and one such student, Oday Abushaban, was so influenced by the program that Pitt was at the top of his list when applying for colleges. He is currently a Junior at Pitt where he is studying Computer Engineering.
Abushaban first heard about PittBio Outreach through his older brother mentioning their summer program, Gene Team, where students could learn about microbiology and participate in research labs. Through the Gene Team, Abushaban was connected with the program’s director of outreach, Becky Gonda. He continued networking with Gonda which helped him to further explore his passion for science. Abushaban says that when he was in high school, he wasn’t sure what career he wanted to pursue, but he knew that working in a lab would be the best way for him to decide what areas of science he was most interested in.
The Gene Team summer program was founded in 2006 and allows high school students in the Pittsburgh area the opportunity to study biological sciences while also providing college preparatory mentoring. They are a participant of the NSF INCLUDES Alliance, and STEM PUSH Network, a national network of pre-college programs that work to increase the enrollment of minority students in college. In April 2024 the program was officially accredited by Middle States Association, making Pitt the first university with this accreditation. The Gene Team was recognized for broadening participation in STEM. Over four weeks, students will get to work on a current biomedical research project from a lab here at the University. The only requirement for students is that they must have completed one year of high school biology to apply.
PittBio Outreach also offers “Pitt Kits,” an equipment loan program that is free for K-12 schools. Teachers and educators must attend a Department of Biological Sciences workshop before they are allowed to request one of the kits, which includes all the materials, supplies, and equipment needed for the classroom workshops. The kits can even be altered to fit any classroom needs; as of now, the program offers a dozen workshops.
Abushaban says that being a part of PittBio Outreach has not only taught him a lot about microbiology but also about encouraging others to explore and get more involved in science. After Gene Team, Abushaban volunteered in several events including STEM Festivals and STEM Day at the Carnegie Science Center. At these events, he publicly taught people about what microbiologists do, and he says outreach is critical in engaging students in science. He was also a part of a Peer Mentoring program during COVID that was an offshoot of the Gene Team. He acted as an instructor and helped guide students through microbiology experiments while quarantining at home.
Through the Outreach program, Abushaban says that he gained a lot of knowledge and was able to forge connections with multiple organizations, including the Learning Disabilities Association of Pennsylvania (LDA). He was hired at the organization to make lab procedural videos for students with learning disabilities so that they could more easily follow along with the experiments, as reading instructions pose barriers for some kids.
Abushaban is now studying Computer Engineering at Pitt and says that what he learned while in the Gene Team helped him to expand upon his interest in STEM and engage him in the work he was doing. While microbiology is far from engineering, he says they still share some scientific method aspects like documentation practices that are critical to him in engineering where he writes reports documenting his projects. As far as choosing Pitt to continue his studies? He says he chose this university because of the amazing outreach provided to him by Becky Gonda and wants to continue giving back by providing outreach himself, “[I] am always willing to aid in PittBio Outreach whenever I can because I respect the motive to bring STEM to kids!”