Researchers observed that, during the first 2 weeks of the internship, most of the students were hesitant to participate or to touch instrumentation in the laboratory. After completing the training the students developed the confidence to carry out a semi-independent project involving the isolation and characterization of a known gene.
None of the students had science as a career choice before the internship; after participating, however, many decided to pursue careers in science. To date, more than 60 students have been provided with internships and 20 students have entered graduate schools, most in molecular biology-related fields, including 10 at the doctoral level in molecular environmental science. Notably, most were first-generation college students.
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