We would like to thank everyone who sent us messages for our 25th Anniversary. Our celebration was a modest party in our back yard, joined by some surprise guests.
The messages we received reminded us of the successes our alumni have achieved, not least the Fulbright Fellowship awarded to Sylvia Pere, a recent UC Berkeley graduate and former Oak Crest Rose Hills Foundation Fellow from 2018. In 2023 she embarked on a journey to Nairobi, Kenya, as a Fulbright Scholar, where she is being hosted by U.S. Ambassador Meg Whitman.
Dr Marc M. Baum, Ph.D.
Sylvia Pere in Kenya (2023)
Testamonials
I hope you and everyone at Oak Crest are doing great! CONGRATULATIONS ON 25 YEARS!!! I remember roaming the labs of Oak Crest back in 2017! I was part of the Math and Science Upward Bound (MSUB) students who would follow and bug both Manji and Simon!!! To this day that summer has been one of the ones I remember the most and the one that has some of the best memories. Manji taught me that summer to speak up and voice my thoughts, opinions and concerns even if I was a little shy or embarrassed….. I also remember Manji and his love for not only science but also for the beach!!! It was an amazing discovery to us when we learned that fact about Manji. I believe we even gave him a little farewell card that was beach themed haha! I really hope that is something that has not changed and that he is full of more knowledge and joy!
Simon was an amazing mentor too! He always made us feel safe and confident with whatever labs we were doing that day. Whether that meant feeding our VE cells or accidently contaminating our agar petri dishes, he always made us feel both competent and excited for the next day! We used to love when he would help us with our journals or give us a sneak peek about who he was as a person outside of science. I always hope the best for Simon as we still use some of our inside jokes to this day! Paul, you were also a very warm and happy presence that we all enjoyed being around!! I remember us joking and laughing with you as you took our pictures (or mug shots as you kindly poked fun at us) even though you chose us on our worst and most disheveled day to do that😂. We truly loved interacting with you, Simon, and Manji.
Even now I take and use the lesson I learned from Oak Crest. While I did not continue on my STEM path, the ability to ask questions, voice any of my concerns, and to think logically/methodologically really has helped me throughout my college experience. Currently, these lessons are following me and encouraging me through my first 6 months as a financial analyst for another nonprofit called College Track that helps first gen students get into college! As a first gen student myself, Oak Crest made the thought of being competitive enough for college so real and exciting. I never in my life expected to be in a real lab and yet there I was at 17! I also remember that many of my college acceptance letters specifically let me know that one of the main reasons they accepted me was because of my experience at Oak Crest.
So in short, I am incredibly thankful that the Oak Crest team allowed us students from MSUB into your labs with open arms that summer! You, Simon, Manji, Marc, and John really changed the trajectory of my life. And for that I will always be thankful for Oak Crest. P.S I attached below a picture of us from that summer. I’m the first person from the left of the picture!
Warmest Regards,
Kim Aguilar
I’m so happy to hear from you and congratulations on amazing 25 years of teaching and giving to many of us.
I remember the time I was at Oak Crest like it was yesterday. I started with microbiology. I was working with Pseudomonas and learning about the biofilm formation. I used to come to the Los Angeles location with my samples to examine them under SEM and TEM, which was amazing experience for me. It felt like I’m looking into another world. I remember Marc taking us, Silvana and myself, to collect some samples from Eaton Canyon and we were working to isolate some bacteria. Sometimes we had to come in the middle of the night to check on the bacteria for the right growth and Marc used to ask us in the morning “how are your babies growing?”. It was a great time. I continued for another year working on a pharmaceutical project crystallizing Tacrolimus drug for a slow release in the body, which was an interesting experience as well.
After my microbiology research at Oak Crest, I finished my bachelor’s degree in microbiology at UCSD, Master of Public Health and started medical school. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish my MD degree, but I used my classes to obtain a Clinical Laboratory scientist degree (CLS) and currently I’m working at Providence St. Jude hospital as a microbiologist. Oak Crest taught me a lot and I’m thankful for all of you. I’m also married with three boys now (6 years, 3 years and 6 months old). My older two are very interested in science and maybe one day they can join the Oak Crest family.
Please send my regards to Marc and John, and I’m very happy to hear from you.
Best wishes,
Lamese Basilyous
This message was very touching and as I’ve wrote previously, Oak Crest changed my life and I am forever grateful to have interned there with everyone else. 25 years is a long time, older than all of my colleagues that participated in “Pathways” and I am happy that you were allowed to overseer there and spread the joys of science with others. Oak Crest helped me be more confident, get a job and I even joined some clubs at school and am hoping to join the summer research experience at Citrus next summer to potentially intern at a pharmaceutical lab. It also helped me visualize what it means to be a scientist, my future and that I am happy with the field I chose.
Thank you,
Matt J
It’s so wonderful to hear from you. I was just thinking about the impact Oak Crest had on my career yesterday (during my drive home from work), so your timing is impeccable. :) In part I was wondering if there’s some way I could donate to help with educational/training programs – after years of school, I’m finally starting to feel like I’m in a financial position to contribute. So if you have any resources about that I’d love to see them. Living in New Hampshire, I don’t get back to Southern California as much as I’d like, but I’d also love to be kept in the loop about the anniversary if there’s a newsletter or email list for that.
My journey since Oak Crest: I was a student at Oak Crest, probably around the summers of 2009 and 2010. I joined through the Caltech-Oak Crest high school program (I forgot what it was called) in one of its early years (maybe even the first year?).
We (a pod of 5 students and 2 teachers) studied the Hahamongna watershed water quality, and then I stayed on and worked with Manji afterwards on the DNA-extraction from tar pits project.
My brother Daniel Holland-Moritz also worked at Oak Crest, and both of us went on to pursue careers in science – Daniel’s a chemist at Merck now, he creates microfluidic systems to facilitate high-throughput protein evolution and other protein engineering tasks.
For both of us, our first paper was from Oak Crest, and remains our only co-authored paper (though maybe in the future we’ll change that). After Oak Crest, I went to UC Davis for my undergraduate degree (although I was interested in Microbiology, I chose to be a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major on Marc’s suggestion that a chemistry background would serve me well in my biology pursuits).
At UC Davis, I became more deeply interested in environmental microbiology and microbial ecology, I started pursing research involving sequencing approaches to survey microbial communities associated with seagrasses under Jonathan Eisen. I also developed an interest in bioinformatics and computational biology (I ended up getting a minor in bioinformatics).
My early Oak Crest training served me well, not only in the basic lab skills and aseptic technique but also in understanding the process of science. After UC Davis, I applied for and was accepted into the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology PhD program at CU Boulder in Colorado, under Noah Fierer. My dissertation focused on microbial communities associated with boreal mosses, and using metagenomics to determine the functional potential of soil microbial communities.
I earned my PhD in 2021, and since then I’ve been a post-doc and was recently promoted to a more permanent position as project scientist at the University of New Hampshire. My current job includes mentorship and research both (a mandate to focus on training students is definitely something that I took with me from my time at Oak Crest).
My research now focuses on how to improve global climate models of soil carbon storage by incorporating microbes and microbial-processes in the models. In particular I work in many wetland, arctic, and boreal regions, but also more generally on soil microbiology in non-agricultural systems at lower latitudes.
To Marc, John, Manji, and any other Oak Crest members whom I interacted with: Working at Oak Crest in high school truly shaped the direction of my career. I chose my research directions in part because of the work I was exposed to at Oak Crest and the foundations of my scientific identity were formed through my conversation and interactions with the team.
My decisions to pursue a degree in Biochemistry rather than Microbiology comes from a conversation I had with Marc, and I use that knowledge every day – (I now work with a lot of biogeochemists and folks who focus on metabolomics). I cannot stress enough how influential your mentorship of me was, not just personally, but now indirectly for the students that I work with.
My students get “Manji-isms” during my training of them in basic laboratory techniques and the structure of that training draws heavily from the training I received at Oak Crest. Marc’s original spiel to me about lab safety and his philosophy lives on in my training as well. How to keep a good lab notebook, what PCR was, using liquid nitrogen safely, the list goes on…
Now that I’m further along in my career, other mentorship stands out to me that was not as important to me at 18 but is much more relevant to me at 31 – conversations with Marc about academia and his reasons for starting Oak Crest, discussions with Manji about work-life balance while driving to sample tar pits.
I am so grateful for the experiences I had at Oak Crest and over the years it’s truly been the gift that keeps on giving.
Happy Friday!
Hannah Holland-Moritz, PhD
I do miss the Oak Crest, but what mostly what I miss are the people. I am pretty sure I am not the only one that may have brought it up, but it is common for people that come from community colleges to be put down in a STEM field. I am proud that I was available to receive an internship from Oak Crest.
Those opportunities make significant changes. I am the only one in my family that is pursuing a science major. I get judged for always. I don’t care. I had two jobs, going to 2 schools, and I learned so much from those two classes. Those open houses and internships do amazing things. THANK YOU!
Eggar Borrayo.
I hope everything is great at Oak Crest! I got your email about the open house that will happen in November. Unfortunately I am not able to make it back to Monrovia even though I really wish to know what’s new about Oak Crest.
I am studying new school quarter at UCLA and everything seems great so far. I am so glad I chose to study electron microscopy study early this year. Electron microscopy images are used almost in all of my class and it’s really helpful for me to interpret the image since I already got exposed to EM graph a lot early this year. Thank you so much for giving us this precious experience! Also, how hard to get into research lab at UCLA makes me realize how great the Rose Hill program is. I really want to appreciate Oak Crest for making this happened!
I am also trying to get into Electron microscopy lab at UCLA or participate in the hospital volunteering (time is very limited and study takes majority of my time now :((() Also I heard about the summer program at Oak Crest from Aryan! It sounds so interesting!! I really miss Oak Crest and will definitely come back and visit later this year!
Christina Miao (Rose Hills 2019; PCC)
I was introduced to Oak Crest during my sophomore year of high school, when I was skeptical and confused about the career path I wanted to take. After taking AP Biology, I knew I had an interest in the science field, but I wasn’t sure if that interest was large enough to make a career out of, as I had never actually experienced working in a laboratory setting. Oak Crest reinforced my desire to pursue biology by providing me the opportunity to collaborate with mentors and peers who share the same interest as me, by allowing access to work hands-on without limitation, and by growing my knowledge by pushing me to think beyond scientific theory.
Starting off as a high school intern at Oak Crest’s summer program, I mastered important rules for working in any laboratory setting, learning general techniques such as micropipetting, autoclaving, making agar plates and media, running gel electrophoresis, and more. Then, I progressed onto taking on a volunteer internship, coming in a few times throughout the week to fulfill basic chores and necessities, while helping out various researchers with their projects. A few months later, I gained the position as a Rose Hills Research Fellow, where I got to apply the skills I had previously learned to my very own research project. I am currently still working on this project, using microscopy to scan and analyze vaginal microbiomes. In tangent with the ongoing intravaginal ring project for disease prevention at Oak Crest, this opportunity has taught me to use atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and various methods of sample preparation techniques for visualizing biological samples.
In the fall, I will be attending Cornell University as a human development major. I truly owe my success and experience to Oak Crest’s openness to giving me so many wonderful chances and opportunities. In the future, I plan on pursuing the health science field as a family doctor or through research. Oak Crest and every member of its staff have prepared me and honed my skills for being a scientist, and I continue to be inspired by every member of this community.
Jamie Oh (June 2019)
It is great to hear from you. My apologies for the delayed reply as this semester has been quite a hectic one. I hope you are well. It sounds like Oak Crest is running smoothly in its new location and is continuing to grow.
Since my Rose Hills Fellowship I have transferred to California State University, Long Beach where I conduct research as a MARC scholar. I am now in my final year and just finished submitting my applications for PhD programs. I have developed a love for organic chemistry and plan on conducting my graduate research in natural product synthesis.
This past summer I conducted summer research as a WAVE Fellow at Caltech in the lab of Dr. Brian Stoltz. I had a great experience and presented my research at ABRCMS just last month.
Other than school, not much has been happening on my end. School and research comprises the majority of my time. I still hold strong ties with PCC through faculty relationships and I currently tutor ochem for PODER students on campus. My aim is to return to PCC after my PhD to teach chemistry.
I continue to encourage students to conduct undergraduate research and tell them about the Rose Hills Fellowship. By the way, how is Manji? Would you please tell him I say hello.
Thank you so much for reaching out and it was a pleasure to hear from you. Please let me know if you ever need any help with events or outreach.
Joel Monroy
Working at Oak Crest as a high school student was a unique and invaluable experience. I had the opportunity to learn from organic and atmospheric chemists while participating in an ongoing research project to characterize the photochemistry of isoprene.
Over the course of a summer, we built our own apparatus, designed and executed experiments, and analyzed data. The training I received from my mentors broadened my scientific horizons and helped place me on a path to continue doing research.
I am grateful to Oak Crest for creating a supportive environment for students to develop their skills, engage with open scientific questions, and explore their interests.
Easun Arunachalam
I worked at Oak Crest as a volunteer intern during my senior year of high school. Being interested in organic chemistry early in high school, Oak Crest gave me the unique opportunity to work in an organic wet lab significantly earlier than would have been otherwise possible.
During this time, I was trained on the most important laboratory techniques and procedures, allowing me to work independently studying nickel catalysts for the insertion of carbon dioxide into organic substrates.
The experience gained at Oak Crest enabled me to join a research group early in my undergraduate studies, while the training received there continues to be relevant in my current research.
Adrian Samkian
My time as a research intern at Oak Crest in 2016 strengthened my desire to pursue a PhD and allowed me to gain many new skills I still use today. While at Oak Crest I worked with Dr. Paul Webster and Karla Ruiz to study the formation of biofilms in bacterial communities and in human microbiomes.
I was introduced to microbiology, molecular biology, and microscopy under the expert guidance of Dr. Webster. I loved exploring these new techniques and mentoring high school students during the summer. I believe Oak Crest’s mission to engage the community, provide exposure to science, and perform outstanding research is one of a kind.
My experience at Oak Crest broadened my interest in science. Since starting my PhD I have worked on research that has a long-term goal of having a medical application to combat microbial pathogens, from drug resistant bacteria to HIV. I am currently focused on designing biological tools to study the complex interactions between the innate immune system of humans and HIV.
Oak Crest provides fantastic opportunities for students to see what being a scientist is really like by enabling students to become independent researchers and present to both the scientific and greater community.
Beatrice Ary
I hope this email finds you well. My name is Ryan Suarez, and I had the privilege of serving as an intern at your esteemed organization during the summer of 2019. I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for the invaluable experiences and opportunities I gained during my time at Oak Crest.
Since my internship, I have graduated from Don Bosco Technical Institute in 2020 and I am currently in my fourth year at Michigan State University, pursuing a degree in Human Biology. As I approach the end of my undergraduate journey, I am eagerly preparing to apply to medical school with the aspiration of becoming a pediatrician and making a positive impact in the field of medicine.
I truly believe that my internship at Oak Crest played a significant role in shaping my academic and professional trajectory. The hands-on experiences, mentorship, and exposure to scientific research were instrumental in deepening my understanding of the scientific process and fueling my passion for healthcare.
I am immensely grateful for the trust and support you extended to me during my time at Oak Crest. The skills and knowledge I acquired have proven invaluable, and I am confident that they will continue to guide me throughout my future endeavors in the medical field.
Once again, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to the entire Oak Crest team for providing me with such a transformative experience. The impact of your guidance and mentorship will forever be cherished.
Thank you sincerely for everything.
Warm Regards,
Ryan Suarez
We were early tenants of PBC and I remember Marc on the other side. Always busy, always helpful and willing to do whatever could be done for other fellow entrepreneurs. When you guys moved, we still ran NMR and still had some sort of legacy connection.
Thank you for who you are as an organization….you are much appreciated and honored!
Andrew Norris
I hope this email finds you well. It is with warm memories and great enthusiasm that I received your email regarding Oak Crest’s 25th anniversary. Time truly does fly, and I am thrilled to contribute to this celebration.
In the summer of 2019, I had the unique opportunity to intern with the city of Monrovia under the Youth Employment Services program, which positioned me at the Oak Crest Institute of Science. It was an insightful and enriching experience that opened my eyes to the dynamic world of STEM. I spent time working with middle school children, guided by the recent graduates on your team, an experience that was nothing short of inspiring.
The dedication and commitment of the Oak Crest staff were palpable, as they paved the way for us to not only learn but also to experience what a career in science might entail. That experience left an indelible mark, a memory that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. I am deeply grateful to Oak Crest for extending such a warm welcome and providing us with an exceptional experience.
Currently, I am pursuing a career in Industrial Engineering at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While it might seem a detour from the science I was immersed in that summer, I assure you that the experience at Oak Crest significantly influenced my perspective. It gave me a newfound respect for life sciences, while simultaneously instilling in me essential skills in teamwork and safety at the workplace. These are invaluable skills that resonate deeply with my current field of study.
I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you, Marc, John, and Manji, as well as the entire Oak Crest community on this remarkable milestone. The impact of Oak Crest resonates far and wide, and I am but one example of the countless individuals who have been positively influenced by your institution. Here’s to many more years of inspiring and shaping young minds!
Best wishes,
Sebastian R. Laprea
I worked at Oak Crest for six weeks last year as part of the Pathways to Stem program at Citrus College. When I first arrived at Oak Crest I didn’t know what to expect as I never worked in a professional lab before. However, my nerves disappeared when I met the Oak Crest faculty. The people at Oak Crest are very friendly and they genuinely care about teaching science to their guests. It was an invaluable experience that I will never forget. My skills as a scientist grew immensely because I was exposed to a fascinating, new environment where I learned so much. I learned many useful laboratory techniques, how to operate a range of laboratory equipment, and how to professionally write and present findings. The research that my group and I conducted at Oak Crest was actually published today (5/26/23) and being a published author is such an amazing feeling. I wouldn’t trade my experience at Oak Crest for anything. I am so grateful to have worked somewhere that cares about my success as a scientist and has reinforced my passion for science. Through this experience, I have also made lifelong friends and connections in the stem fields.
As for where I am currently, I will be graduating from Citrus this semester and transferring to UCLA this fall where I will be majoring in chemistry. I am also very happy to say that I will be returning to Oak Crest this summer to conduct research through Citrus’s Summer Research Experience. See you soon!
Omar Masri
I hope this email finds you well! Your message definitely took me down memory lane to my time at Oak Crest back in 2008. Those days were pretty unforgettable, and being part of the Oak Crest family was an amazing chapter in my life.
Working at Oak Crest gave me a serious leg up in my career. The skills I picked up there were super handy when I started working as a lab tech at Universal Genetics, just down the street from Oak Crest. I worked there for 12 years, and you could say my time at Oak Crest really paved the way for my career.
Fast forward to today, I’m not only in the midst of applying to medical school, but I’m also a proud mom to two beautiful kids. The practical research experience I garnered at Oak Crest has been a significant asset in my application process. The institute, with its dedicated faculty, deepened my appreciation for scientific research and its profound impact on the field of medicine.
I heard about Oak Crest’s 25th anniversary and I couldn’t be more thrilled! It fills me with immense pride to be a part of such an impactful institution’s history. I want to send my heartiest congratulations to you, Marc, John, Manji, and the entire team that has made Oak Crest the successful and inspiring organization it is today. Please extend a special hello to Marc and John on my behalf!
I’ve been following Oak Crest’s journey even after moving on, and I’m continually impressed by the exceptional work you all are doing. I’m happy to share my experiences and journey since Oak Crest with the team, and hope that it might serve as a source of motivation for current students.
Once again, congratulations on this monumental milestone. I am eager to see Oak Crest continue to flourish and make a difference in the scientific community.
Best,
Thao Nguyen
Great to hear from you. I’ve been recently thinking about Oak Crest as a possible location to apply for once I finish my PhD in about a year.
I remember interning at Oak Crest for 2 consecutive summers as a high school student in 2013 and 2014, first for Summer Research Connection (SRC) and then with a group of high school students in 2014. Manji was my mentor for both summers and he was absolutely excellent. I still remember learning more about experimental design from him and he always came into work with a great attitude and willingness to help mentor his students. I also fairly vividly remember the SRC exit presentations and banquet which was very nice.
After my time at Oak Crest I went to UC Davis to complete my B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where I also worked in a commercial Sanger Sequencing lab on campus for 3 years and a research lab for 2 years in the Kowalczykowski lab. In this lab, I worked on studying protein-DNA interactions.
After my time at UC Davis, I went to graduate school at UCLA in 2018, where I’m currently studying the role of a mammalian actin nucleator in cardiomyocytes for my PhD in Biochemistry, Structural, and Molecular Biology. I’m expected to graduate in June-August 2024.
My experience at Oak Crest most definitely influenced my decision to pursue independent research and also encouraged me to intern at Amgen last summer in 2022 as I knew back when I was at Oak Crest that I wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry.
I hope everyone’s been doing well and glad March, John, and Manji are all still there.
Sincerely,
Dylan Valencia
When I attended the Oak Crest Internship over the summer before my senior year of high school (Summer 2019), I had my heart set on becoming a medical doctor. Since then, I started school at the University of California, Berkeley studying Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis on Cell and Developmental Biology. I also began to assist Dr. Richard Harland and Dr. Marta Truchado-Garcia with their research. This, along with my experiences at Oak Crest contributed to a career development change and now I would like to go into biological research! Currently, my interests lie in developmental biology and embryogenesis. In the future, I would like to do research on developmental disorders in humans. I plan to apply to PhD programs in December 2023.
Ashley Fox
It’s Vivian Diep from the Upward Bound internship this summer. I just wanted to say thank you for the experience this summer. Thank you for being patient with us and really taking the time to explain any of our questions or concerns. Before starting the internship I was unsure of whether biology was really a passion of mine or not, but after the experience this summer it really solidified my love for biology. Even though you may not have realized it, you have made a big impact on me and my future into biological sciences.
I am currently a senior and is in the process of applying to colleges. I have chosen to major in nursing or in microbiology. I hope to update you with good news during college decision season!
Anyways, I hope you’ve been doing well!
Vivian Diep (Upward Bound 2019)
I am currently working in Dr. Donald Kohn’s lab at UCLA, a gene therapy lab that focuses on genetic blood diseases. I am working with both lentiviral vectors and CRISPR Cas9 technologies. Working at Oak Crest early on helped me feel comfortable to not only ask questions but also to take initiative in my learning inside the lab. Developing habits of asking what needs to be done as well as learning to take meticulous notes on procedures enriched my experience by allowing me to cover more material in the limited amount of time I spent in the lab during the school year. In fact, this summer I was able to not only work in the lab full time but help train some of the undergrad and high school students in the lab.
Lindsay Lathrop
My time at Oak Crest was an experience that made me realize I wanted to conduct research. I volunteered during the summer of 2016 and I didn’t know if research was meant for me but I became part of the green rust team. By volunteering it steered me in the direction of research and although trial and error may occur, that’s what captured my interest. I currently finished a summer internship at California State University, Fullerton. I was working under Dr. Parvin Shahrestani to find the candidate genes for longevity in Drosophila melanogaster (the common fruit fly). I’m also transferring to California State University, Channel Islands in Fall 2019 and I hope to continue conducting research. The summer I spent at Oak Crest was the setting stone to the rest of my future.
Alexis Guardado 2016 (Citrus College)
My goodness, how time flies! I’m very excited to see the growth of the institution that catalyzed my research career. Since my time at OCIS I finished my B.S. in Chemistry from UCR, worked as a research technician for Avery Dennison, and now I’m currently a Ph.D. Student at Clemson University studying carbon quantum dots with Dr. Ya-Ping Sun. I can say, without a doubt, that my time at OCIS with Marc and John truly taught me to love what I do. I learned to think independently, and ask questions without fear. I’m completely excited to go back and visit the new campus, and the instrument I spent so many hours working with.
Paul Prego
My name is Elaine Alva; I interned at Oak Crest two consecutive summers under the supervision of Manjula Gunawardana. In Summer of 2014 the Citrus College SRE program placed me at Oak Crest, where I worked on the Plasmodium and Natural Products project (Alex Montes and Paul Priego guided me throughout this project. Ranelle Buck, Lace Cotingkeh, and I assisted others with projects in our spare time). Many thanks to you for taking time to teach me how to make blood smears; I really appreciate all of your help! In Summer of 2015 I contacted Oak Crest independently and assisted with bacterial growth curves and gas chromatography for the Solvent Tolerance project (Sam Khalsa and Yurianna Hou worked with me under the supervision of Nayeli Guzman).
Since I was last at Oak Crest, I transferred to Cal Poly Pomona and graduated in December of 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology, minoring in Chemistry. I also received my Phlebotomy certification and have since been working various part-time jobs as I apply to Physician Assistant programs. I have just finished my first round of applications and am eager to see what the future will bring!
I look fondly back at my time at Oak Crest: I am so grateful for the opportunity to be mentored by such incredible people. I feel that the variety of skills I gained from Oak Crest helped me to be a better student at Cal Poly Pomona and a stronger applicant to physician assistant programs.
Elaine Alva
I was in attendance of the most previous cycle of Pathways to STEM in Group 2 and took part in the modules led by you, Marianne, and the Oak Crest staff, such as the six-week research project at Oak Crest and the trip to Catalina Island. These modules were my first introduction to research ever, and I wanted to say thank you for being so welcoming to me despite lacking many skills related to the STEM field.
I wanted to give an update on how these modules have helped me throughout my transfer process at Citrus. I talked about how these trips impacted my learning on my transfer application essays, and I was accepted into schools such as UCLA and UC Berkeley for fall 2023 to study environmental science.
I believe the discussion of these experiences played a big part in my consideration for admission, and I wanted to say thank you again for the support to gain confidence in these skills, and to further my interest and passion for science in general.
I am excited for what is to come, and I hope our paths cross again!
Victoria Drake
My summer research experience at Oak Crest Research Institute was an eye-opening adventure. I was assigned to this research site after applying for the Caltech Summer Research Connection, in which they connect high school teachers and students to research mentors.
Our study aimed to explore the rising levels of toxins in the Los Angeles River. We travelled to different sites along the river to collect samples, then tested them in the lab.
This was my first experience forming scientific hypotheses, working with a research team, learning unique lab techniques, and presenting our findings in an oral presentation.
My lab skills from taking the Academy Biotechnology class definitely helped me prepare for our work in the lab. This experience strengthened my abilities to conduct research through college and solidified my passion for scientific research.
Kristen Ampig
I have graduated since interning at Oak Crest with a BS in Biochemistry and a minor in Applied Statistics.
I am working at City of Hope in Dr. Peter Lee’s Lab mainly focusing on flow cytometry by optimization of multi-color panels and much more. My time at Oak Crest helped me prepare for the laboratory work environment right after graduation. From aseptic techniques to immunolabeling and tissue culturing, the experiences and skills I’ve gained gave me the courage and confidence to continue down a path in STEM.
Chi Hoang
We wish all our alumni successful careers in their chosen fields.