By Tom Gralinski, STEM Coordinator
Smith College Jandon Center for Community Engagement
Date: May 2015

Program Description: In the fall the HCC/ALC students had been reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and the team of Smith students included a little about cancer when talking about animal cells to connect the science to the visitors’ reading assignment.  When the HCC/ALC students left the Smith students were talking about how cool it might be to actually get the adult learners back to actually see HeLa cells and learn more about cancer. Allison Sirois, OGR and working in Sarah Moore’s lab, had a lot of interest in doing that and through the Moore lab was able to obtain and work through the safety protocols to get cloned cells from Henrietta Lacks for the HCC/ALC students to study.  The team of Sahar Aftab ‘18, Suzanne Abreu ‘17, Amalia Driller-Colangelo ’18 worked with Allison to create a 2-hour lab activity that had the HCC/ALC students investigate and learn about cancer and look at HeLa cells in the lab.
Read more about this program in ‘Making a Difference in the Community’ at the end of this page.

#1: Allison Sirois, Suzanne Abreu, Amalia Driller-Colangelo, and Sahar Aftab.  Sahar is explaining different types of tissues to the visiting group.

#2: Suzanne Abreu is explaining cancer cells and how they grow.

#3: Amalia Driller-Colangelo setting up a workstation to investigate cancer cells.

#4: Allison Sirois explains the use of an inverted microscope to look at live HeLa cells.

#5: On a lab tour, Allison Sirois explains how she grows HeLa cells in an incubator.

#6: A pair of HCC/ALC students observing HeLa cells.

 

Making a Difference in the Community by Tom Gralinski

Science Center Outreach partnered with the HCC/ Adult Learning Center in Holyoke about 5 years ago to help enhance science instruction and create an opportunity for Smith undergraduates to work with an adult literacy program.  Teams of Smith students have worked with Judith Wopereis, Center for Microscopy and Imaging, and Tom Gralinski, Science Center, to develop and teach a variety of science based lessons. Recently a team of four Smithies created a unique program that built off of a standard microscopy activity that introduces students to light microscopes with a plant and animal cell investigation.

In the fall, the HCC/ALC students had been reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and the team of Smith students included a little about cancer when talking about animal cells to connect the science to the visitors’ reading assignment.  When the HCC/ALC students left, the Smith students were talking about how cool it might be to get the adult learners back to actually see HeLa cells and learn more about cancer. Allison Sirois, ‘0GR and working in Sarah Moore’s lab, had a lot of interest in doing that and through the Moore lab was able to obtain and work through the safety protocols to get cloned cells from Henrietta Lacks for the HCC/ALC students to study.  The team of Sahar Aftab ‘18, Suzanne Abreu ‘17, and Amalia Driller-Colangelo ’18 worked with Allison to create a 2-hour lab activity that had the HCC/ALC students investigate and learn about cancer and look at HeLa cells in the lab.

“Judith and the student team went way above and beyond by putting together an amazing presentation specifically tailored for our class. Truly amazing.” Aliza Ansell, Program Coordinator, HCC/ALC.

In reflecting on working with adult learners at the HCC/ALC Allison Sirois said: “I enjoy doing the outreach program because it’s so refreshing to see students be so enthralled in an activity. It’s all just so exciting to them, and in turn that’s really exciting for me.  I like how they draw from personal experiences when asking questions because they are truly interested in learning. I learn a lot in return as well such as different ways to explain the same material, depending on how someone learns best.”

When asked what she learns through her work, Suzanne Abreu says: “Doing this work teaches me that not everyone goes through the same path of attending college or even finishing high school. I learn that people with different histories still want to pursue degrees and make their lives better by seeking higher education. It’s just a privilege to be a part of their journey and be able to teach them things that they never knew before.”

“Seeing the HeLa cells was amazing. And Allison explained everything so well. It was one of the best field trips I’ve been on. Can we go back?” — Divina Martinez, HCC/ALC Student

Science Outreach currently partners with three adult literacy programs.  In addition to the HCC/ALC we also work with the Literacy Project in both Northampton and Amherst. The Smith students that volunteer with these programs do so for a variety of reasons.  Many of our students help out because of their passion and interest in the sciences, but others jump in because of their interest in social justice, immigrant support, education, or to give back the community.   This kind of collaboration benefits all involved and gives Smith students an opportunity to make a difference in our region.