AccessSTEM Internships

Scott Bellman

AccessSTEM student participants have completed more than 200 challenging internships in recent years. Student experiences include collecting data from inside an active volcano, participating on a team that watched a space shuttle launch from a control room, working as a chemical engineer to explore photo-reproduction, exploring the mystery of an unhealthy wolf population by analyzing parasite DNA, counting salmon at Mud Mountain Dam, and creating working models of new rocket propulsion technology. Additionally, several students created new computer programs and reviewed websites for accessibility. In the last year, students have engaged in STEM internships that include:

  • biology research intern at the UW's prestigious Kaeberlein Lab
  • mechanical engineering intern at Tethers Unlimited
  • astronomy research intern in the UW's Astronomy department
  • library science research intern at the Renton Public Library
  • bio-molecular structure intern at the UW's Daggett Research Group

A 2010 AccessSTEM Intern travelled to Costa Rica to complete a Hymenopteran observation study (yes, counting bees and wasps!). At one point, the group was following a GPS unit to the research site, when they came upon a 40 foot cliff. It can truly be said that the life of an intern is not dull! Students who want to learn about STEM internship opportunities can email Scott Bellman at swb3@uw.edu.

Picture of an AccessSTEM intern holding a GPS at a Costa Rica coffee plantation.
An AccessSTEM intern works with a GPS unit in a coffee plantation near La Pastora, Costa Rica.