Deborah Awoyeye, a rising 11th grader at Rutland High in Macon, thrives on the science activities.

“It’s not like in high school where you only get to watch the teacher do the experiment,” Awoyeye said. “Here, you get to actually do the experiments.”

Awoyeye and 11 additional 11th and 12th graders from central Georgia are experiencing college life for two weeks, thanks to a STEM Grant.

The Science, Teaching, Engineering, and Mathematics Grant provides funding to programs focused on raising students’ interest in teaching in STEM-related fields.

In order to participate in the program, the high school students needed a nomination from their school counselors. Of the 50 nominations, 12 students were selected to participate in the pilot year of Georgia College’s PRELIMS (Preparing Robust Educators by Learning Integrative Math & Science) Academy.

Nikolas Spikes, an rising 11th grader at Macon County High in Montezuma aspires to become an educator. This week’s activities have helped him “understand and grasp the concepts relating to molecular biology,” he said.

“This work has helped me focus on becoming a biology teacher,” the rising junior said. “I am very excited about the student teaching the group will do Thursday for small groups of seventh-graders.”

The PREMINS students are living in a residence hall and attending classes and labs across the campus.

During the second week of class, the students formed CSI teams to investigate a hypothetical murder. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent talked to students about how he uses math and science during an investigation. Students also will travel to Atlanta to tour a GBI bureau to observe the integrated sciences used in a GBI career.

Dr. Karynne Kleine, PRELIMS Academy Coordinator, is pleased with the progress the students are making.

“We have expanded the students’ content knowledge and helped change their attitudes about math, science and engineering,” Kleine said.

The students’ participation in the STEM program continues into the fall. The summer program instructors will hold two follow-up days with their students and continue mentoring online.

Science program instructor Dr. Mike Gleason is encouraged by the students’ enthusiasm for science.

“They love the participatory aspects of science,” Gleason said. “I expect we will see some future science teachers out of this group.”