Young student aims to save a program — and her career

Pauline Chu was thrilled for her daughter. Sofia, a seventh-grader at Washington Middle School, was selected for an elite summer program with an astounding 26-year history of leading students to academic and career success in science.

“My daughter has wanted to be a pediatrician since she was like 5 years old,” Chu said.

The Distance Learning Center’s STEMPREP program gives students from underrepresented minority groups a chance to study and work in labs every summer starting from seventh grade and for the next 10 summers until they complete their fourth year of college.

All of the program trainees graduate from college. Most of them go on to graduate school.

The program, which is held on university campuses like Southern Methodist and the University of Pennsylvania, is funded through donations and federal grants from the Department of Defense.

In March the Distance Learning Center was notified that the department would no longer fund the program. An email went out to all the parents:

“… at this time there will not be federal funds to operate our junior high training programs for this summer, and you should make alternate plans.”

When she found out the program was canceled, Sofia’s first reaction was, “But that was my career …”

This was not a child’s overly dramatic cry — the program could very well establish her career.

Kamehameha Schools graduate Kyle Nakatsuka went through all 10 years of the STEMPREP program. In May 2015 he graduated from SMU. He is now working toward a master’s in public health at UH Manoa. Two of his brothers also went through the program. His younger brother is still in high school. His older brother is now in an M.D.-Ph.D. program at Harvard.

Hillary Lucas’ son, Walter Rouse, has been involved in the program for the past two summers. “STEMPREP has given Walter confidence in his abilities, kindled new medical science interests, helped develop new friendships, encouraged a greater sense of independence and inspired in him the belief that he can achieve anything,” Lucas said.

The application process is rigorous. Chu said her daughter had to submit academic records since the fourth grade, take the SSAT, write essays and go through an interview via Skype. Once she got past that, Sofia thought she could just focus her energy on learning. She didn’t count on having to save the program.

Program director Moses Williams asked the parents to appeal to federal government officials to express the importance of the program in assisting high-achieving minority students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.

The parents are taking it a step further, banding together to seek donations to fund the program. They are trying to raise $500,000 by the end of the month.

“The parents of these 180 students are brainstorming and writing to foundations,” Chu said. “We have an all-for-one, one-for-all stance. … We want all students to be able to attend this program.”

Sofia has started a letter-writing campaign. Her first starts out, “Dear Mr. Zuckerberg …”

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.