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Researchers inspire local youth to pursue careers in STEM

Professors like Cristal Zuniga are bringing Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ science into the community through tailored programs and hands-on lab experiences.

By Bryana Quintana
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Cristal Zuniga poses with students from Tracy Beach’s Fletcher Hills Elementary class as they visit her Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ biology lab to learn about microalgae research and STEM opportunities in college.
Cristal Zuniga poses with students from Tracy Beach’s Fletcher Hills Elementary class as they visit her Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ biology lab to learn about microalgae research and STEM opportunities in college. (Bryana Quintana / Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­)

Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ faculty, staff and students always go the extra mile. Beyond their time in the classroom and conducting research, they work to inspire the next generations of scientists through community outreach efforts.

In March, for example, assistant biology professor Cristal Zuniga used part of a National Science Foundation grant to host a two-week exchange program between her lab and a local fifth grade class. 

Zuniga partnered with Tracy Beach, an Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ alumna and fifth grade teacher at El Cajon’s Fletcher Hills Elementary School. The pair of educators organized the exchange program that teaches students about Zuniga’s microalgae research while meeting fifth grade science curriculum standards by demonstrating processes such as how plants and tiny organisms like algae convert light into energy through photosynthesis.

The first week, Zuniga's team visited Fletcher Hills to provide an overview of what microalgae is, how they use it for research, and how factors like sugar, water and light can affect its growth. Each student was given their own algae sample to take care of over the next week before visiting Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­ the following week.

One of Beach’s students gets a microscopic view of algae samples in Zuniga’s lab (Bryana Quintana / Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­)Open the image full screen.
One of Beach’s students gets a microscopic view of algae samples in Zuniga’s lab (Bryana Quintana / Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­)

During the fifth grade class’s visit to their lab, Zuniga’s undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral scholars walked the elementary schoolers through a series of experiments. The fifth graders conducted real science in a college laboratory, testing the pH levels of the samples they had cared for over the past week, analyzing how the samples were affected by the growing conditions they selected, and closely analyzing the algae using advanced tools like a microscope and spectrophotometers. 

Beach’s class also interviewed scientists from around the world working remotely for the Zuniga lab, asking questions about why they chose to pursue a career in science. Through all these components of the experience, the hope, both educators said, is to introduce the young students, many of whom are from underrepresented backgrounds, to a world of opportunities offered by college and careers in STEM.

“Research has shown that early exposure to STEM experiences increases the interest and disposition of kids to engage with science and become successful scientists and engineers,” Zuniga said.  

Associate Professor Changqi Liu, food scientist in the College of Health and Human Services, holds up a sample of freeze-dried guacamole to teach the fifth grade students about his NASA and USDA-funded project in collaboration with Zuniga and Assistant Professor Jing Zhao. (Bryana Quintana / Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­)Open the image full screen.
Associate Professor Changqi Liu, food scientist in the College of Health and Human Services, holds up a sample of freeze-dried guacamole to teach the fifth grade students about his NASA and USDA-funded project in collaboration with Zuniga and Assistant Professor Jing Zhao. (Bryana Quintana / Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­)

This year, students also got a preview of the nearly finalized space guacamole product Zuniga and College of Health and Human Services food scientists Changqi Liu and Jing Zhao have been working on as part of a NASA and USDA-funded project. The fifth graders heard from Liu about what it took to create the freeze-dried superfood infused with microalgae, and how this addition to astronauts’ diets can give crews a nutrient boost on long-duration missions.

“Back in the classroom at Fletcher Hills, I gave the students a survey. Besides lunch, the students’ favorite thing was being in the lab, using the tools and working with the scientists,” Beach said, reporting multiple students said this opportunity made them want to pursue careers in science and inspired them to consider attending college for the first time, many saying they want to go to Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­.

“Real life experiences make an impact by showing students that what they learn will be used in the future and it makes it more fun,” Beach added. “If students are having fun, they learn more and have a positive attitude towards learning in general.”

This is the second year Beach’s fifth grade class and Zuniga’s lab have teamed up for this scientific exchange experience and the collaboration will continue in the future, thanks to the NSF grant.

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