On July 29, ASCC ACNR, ASDOE, student interns and their mentors and families gathered to celebrate the 15th Annual American Samoa STEP-UP High School Science Symposium. The STEP-UP program is a national high school student internship program sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), overseen in the Pacific Islands by the University of Hawai’i John H. Burns School of Medicine and coordinated locally by the American Samoa Department of Education and ASCC ACNR. The highly selective program assigns high school students to work closely with local scientist mentors to conduct hands-on research projects. This year four students were selected. Two worked at the National Park of American Samoa mentored by Dr. Eric Brown and Simeona Leo of the Park; one student worked with Mata’uitafa Faiai and Dr. Nicky Hawley of Yale University and the OLAGA – American Samoa Research Program; and the fourth student worked with Dr. Ian Gurr at ASCC ACNR. At the symposium the students all gave presentations on their research which focused on topics important in American Samoa. Ms. Tamara Aifesili, a student at Leone High School studied ways to control the invasive weed vao migi that is growing along many of the National Park hiking trails. Mr. Myron Faimalo of Tafuna High School researched the effect of excess nutrients in promoting harmful algal growth on coral reefs. Ms. Ngaire Cendrowski, a recent graduate of Fa’asao Marist, looked at body dissatisfaction among Samoan children, an important contributing factor for eating disorders and poor mental health. The fourth student, Ms. Princessvalentine Vaoga of Leone High School evaluated tolerance of new ASCC ACNR taro varieties to taro leaf blight disease and to increasing soil salinity associated with relative sea level rise. University of Hawai’i and NIH scientists joined the symposium remotely. In August, all four students will travel to NIH in Bethesda, Maryland to present their research at the National High School STEP-UP Symposium through travel funds provided by the STEP-UP program and the American Samoa Department of Education.