Four high school student participants of the Short-Term Research Experience Program to Unlock Potential (STEP-UP) program presented the results of their studies at the 14 th Annual STEP-UP Symposium held at the American Samoa Community College – Agriculture, Community and Natural Resources (ACNR) Division on July 29, 2023. The STEP-UP interns will travel to the headquarters of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, where they will join students from throughout the United States to present their research in the national STEP-UP High School Summer Research Symposium.

The STEP-UP program is a national program supported and administered by the NIH - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases that provides summer research internship opportunities to high school students to gain hands-on research experience that can help open the door to academic programs and career paths in the sciences. The program is coordinated locally through collaboration between the American Samoa Department of Education and ASCC-ACNR. Accepted students complete their internships at ASCC or another local agency together with a research mentor to complete a research project. This year’s interns are recent graduates of Fa’asao Marist High School Dimple Bonhart and Penny Solaita, Charles Tauiliili of Tafuna High School, and Emirina Ioane of Leone High School.

Bonhart, mentored by ASCC-ACNR Horticulture Researcher Dr. Ian Gurr, focused her research on addressing increasing soil and water quality due to sea level rise through the evaluation and validation of an efficient way to add salt tolerance to assessments of taro varieties. Working with mentors from the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Invasive Species Coordinator Casidhe Mahuka and Reef Fish Ecologist Fuamai Tago, Tauiliili’s research was on detrimental growth of algae on American Samoa’s coral reefs. Mentored by ASCC-ACNR Entomologist Dr. Mark Schmaedick, Solaita’s research focused on the impacts of invasive little fire ants on the small animals that inhabit forest soil leaf litter and which are important contributors to the nutrient cycling that helps sustain tropical forests. Ioane worked with mentor Joshua Naseri of OLAGA Research American Samoa to identify barriers and facilitators to adolescent participation in health-related research in American Samoa.

Travel expenses for the students are covered jointly by the STEP-UP program and the American Samoa Department of Education. High school students interested in the STEP-UP program can find more information at http://stepup.niddk.nih.gov and https://stepup.jabsom.hawaii.edu or by calling Dr. Schmaedick at ASCC-ACNR at 699-1575.