LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The experiments in the biomedical sciences building at West Technical & Career Academy are as diverse as the students. Biotechnology Program Lead Andrea Jydstrup-McKinney said her students are researching antibiotics alternatives to combat the rising problems in antibiotic resistance, how to make plants more drought tolerant, how to disrupt bacterial biofilms as the world faces major problems with infections and more.
“The techniques and stuff these students are getting and the research symposiums that I’m planning on taking them to, I didn’t have until my junior year of college,” Jydstrup-McKinney said.
Jydstrup-McKinney is expanding research opportunities for minorities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. The UNR grad and former CCSD student recently won a $3,000 stipend from the Society of Science to help her students from underrepresented groups develop STEM projects that they can enter into science research competitions.
“I was just thrilled to be able to take my love for research and be able to spread it to more students,” said Jydstrup-McKinney.
She’s pushing for more girls in her class to pursue a career in STEM fields.
According to data from the Pew Research Center, in 2019, 73 percent of STEM workers were men. Studies show that around middle school, girls lose interest in STEM fields because they don’t feel the jobs are for them.
Yet Jydstrup-McKinney, a third-generation CCSD teacher, is working to change the male-female ratio by exposing her students to advanced studies and attracting them to more STEM fields.
“I know that not all of my students are going to choose a career in biotechnology,” Jydstrup-McKinney said. “But having an independent science project, having to problem-solve and think critically when things go wrong, and then present their information to a judge, all of those skills can be applied to any field they choose to go into later.”
Through science competitions, students have a chance to win scholarship money, fellowships, and more opportunities to continue their interest in STEM fields, as Jydstrup-Mckinney continues her mission to instruct more scientists like herself.
