Ben Marcus, a junior at Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy-Upper School in Stamford, is among a select group of high school students from across the country chosen to participate in Yale University’s Discovery to Cure High School Internship Program.
Only 8% of eligible students were selected to receive this year’s prestigious paid internship, which carries with it the unique opportunity for students to have their research study published.
Established in 2003, the summer program introduces rising high school seniors to Yale’s biomedical laboratories in the hope that they will consider pursuing careers in the fields of science and medicine. Interns are assigned mentors and participate in a research project directed by the program’s principal investigator. The program culminates with the delivery by each student of a 10-minute presentation about his or her research project.
“Bi-Cultural is the only school to have had every candidate we’ve fielded be accepted into the program,” noted science teacher and college counselor Meghana Fernandez.
Prior to Marcus, four Bi-Cultural students have gone through the internship program in previous years. Each of them focused their projects on reproductive cancer; two have had their work published; two were invited to continue their internship for the coming year; one was selected to do research at the Oceanic Research Institute; and one represented the University of Connecticut in Iceland. All four are currently attending college, where they are each engaged in research projects.
As impressive as the Yale Discovery to Cure internship is, said Fernandez, it becomes even more so when one considers the program’s arduous application process.
“When students reach their sophomore year, we determine which one may be suited for this internship,” she explained. “Then we work with them so that the following year they’re ready to begin the application process. We put a lot of effort into working with the student, which is why every year we are able to get a student in. Of course, credit goes to our students who have not only put in the effort to complete the exhaustive application process but have also been amazing biological research candidates who have paved the way for up and coming students.”
Working with Marcus throughout this process was enormously gratifying, she said. “I’ve never seen anyone as organized and determined as Ben.”
In Marcus’ case, the application process started the summer before his junior year when he sat down to discuss with Fernandez potential internship opportunities for the following summer.
“I had heard of the Discovery to Cure program from previous students and wanted to gain more knowledge of the topic the program deals with, which is cancer research. Ms. Fernandez recommended that I read “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer,” by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, to further my knowledge of the subject. I was extremely motivated by the book, and it bolstered my passion for medicine and cancer research. I was eager to delve deeper,” said Marcus.
“Later that year, Ms. Fernandez mentioned the option of applying to the Discovery to Cure program and I jumped at the opportunity. In applying to such a competitive program, I knew that my application had to be extremely sincere and personal, while also being studious and professional. Using knowledge from my EMT certification, which I received the previous summer, and my AP/ECE biology course, the application started to come together.
On April 22—after six months of preparation—Ben received notice from Yale that he had been accepted into the program. Unfortunately, the letter also stated that, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the program would not be taking place this summer. However, Ben was invited to attend their Elite Young Professionals Medical Conference at Yale in October.
“Although I am disappointed that I will not be able to participate in the program this summer, I did obtain a wealth of knowledge in the application process. I would not have been able to compile such a strong application without the help of the exceptional Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy STEM program and my amazing Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy advisors,” he said.
Fernandez calls the Yale Discovery to Cure internship program an “amazing opportunity that allows students to see what happens in terms of research. One of the many great things about it, is that the students are given access to the kind of lab equipment that is simply unavailable at the high school level. It’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
By Judie Jacobson
