Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer
Mira Costa Junior Katie Gould plans to create a new path with her own engineering plans by attending an engineering program at a California college this Summer Break.
Gould will attend COSMOS, or California State Summer School for Mathematics and Sciences, at the University of California San Diego, this summer. Gould will live on the UCSD campus for four weeks while attending “cluster topics,” small break out sessions that are reminiscent of classes, to further advance her learning.
“I originally heard about the program since my dad has a colleague whose two daughters are both pursuing engineering degrees,” Gould said. “One of his daughters did COSMOS and highly recommended it to me.”
The application process for COSMOS is incredibly competitive, Gould said. To apply, she had to write essays and get teacher recommendations. COSMOS is offered on four UC campuses, such as UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis, but applicants are only allowed to apply to one campus, she said. There are over 3,500 applications and the admissions officers select 160 to 200 students per college campus, which is about a 20% acceptance rate.
“I was accepted into my first choice, a biomedical cluster, ‘Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine,’” Gould said. “We will be studying TE-RMs which use biologically-based, alternative treatments for medical conditions. For example, engineered skin is used to treat wounds and burns.”
During the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine classes, or TE-RMS, Gould will be living in the dorms on campus. Although she does not know anyone else who is currently attending, she will be paired with other people in her same program. This program will give her an idea as to what an engineering program on an actual college campus would be like, she said.
“I’m looking forward to experiencing college life on the UCSD campus for four weeks and meeting new people,” Gould said. “Hopefully this will help me decide if I really want to pursue engineering and if I will enjoy the biomedical field.”
Link: Check out COSMOS website for more information on their programs.
The mission statement of TE-RMS is to engage students, establish a group of students, to connect them, to develop an idea of the future, and to ensure that the COSMOS student body reflects California. This summer program was designed to help create a safe environment to create these ideals. Gould has previously experimented with engineering through past summer programs and classes.
“I have always liked math and science, so I did an introduction to engineering camp last summer in Georgia,” Gould said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but I had a lot of fun and I met some really nice people whom I’m still in touch with.”
Gould is currently looking into colleges that have a focus on engineering. She plans to see how TE-RMS works out and from there she will decide what she wants to focus on. Currently, she sees a large future in engineering through college and eventually a full career.
“I am really excited to see where engineering will take me in the future,” Gould said. “Engineering is for sure a growing field with a lot of opportunity.”
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