career exploration for high school students

Biotechnology Youth Apprenticeship Program

In partnership with the Dane County School Consortium, the BTC Institute has been actively involved in the development and implementation of the Dane County Youth Apprenticeship Program in Biotechnology, launched through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development in 1993. Students may elect to complete a two-year apprenticeship or a one-year senior internship.

The program includes paid training in an industry or UW-Madison research lab. Students receive high school credit for their work experience (450 hours required per year) and for participation a specialized biotechnology course held weekly during the Academic Year at the BTC Institute.

For more information, please visit www.dcsc.org/yap

Our recent blog for Promega Connections highlights the value of this experience for all participants: Playing it Forward: Biotechnology Youth Apprenticeship and Mentorship

Second Year Seniors

Robin Alcorta
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Deptartment of Entomology
Dr. Christelle Guédot

Anna Batchenkova
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Deptartment of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Amy Ellis, in the lab of Dr. Shelby O’Connor

Isabel Jones
School: Verona Area High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Morgridge Institute for Research
Dr. Alex Walsh, in the lab of Dr. Melissa Skala

Elias Kemna
School: McFarland High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Evan Glasgow, in the lab of Dr. Brian G. Fox

Alexandra Lightner
School: Stoughton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Horticulture
Shelby Ellison, in the lab of Dr. Philipp Simon

Noah Welke
School: Sun Prairie High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW School of Medicine Department of Medicine and Public Health
Dr. Mari Iida, in the lab of Dr. Deric L. Wheeler

First Year Seniors and Juniors

Anita Anongdeth
School: Monona Grove High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Botany
Dr. Richard Barker, in the lab of Dr. Simon Gilroy

Lucas Bauer
School: Jefferson High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Ganser Scientific
Dr. Joe Beck

Ahyun Chung
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Kirk Vander Muelen, Nathan Kuch, and Evan Glasgow
in the lab of Dr. Brian G. Fox

Amanda Cook
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Biochemistry
Samantha Anderson and Sam Craven, in the lab of Dr. Alessandro Senes

Gabby Erstad
School: DeForest High School
Worksite & Mentor:
LGC
Lucas Slivicke

Autumn Faircloth
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
AmebaGone
Courtney Trinastic

Logan Florek
School: Sun Prairie High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Morgridge Institute for Research
Andrea Scheifelbein and Amani Gillette
in the lab of Dr. Melissa Skala

Nate Hanson
School: Verona Area High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Nathaniel Fortney, in the lab of Dr. Daniel Noguera

Vaishnav Kumar
School: Verona Area High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Surgery
Alexander Foote, in the lab of Dr. Susan Thibeault

Britney Lazo
School: McFarland High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Aldevron
Katie Rogers

Rohan Shah
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Medicine
Dr. Eric Schmuck in the lab of Dr. Amish Raval

Aaron Thompson
School: Stoughton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Botany
Bessie Splitt, in the lab of Dr. Edgar Spalding

Jason Yang
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison School of Pharmacy
Yatao Shi, in the lab of Dr. Lingjun Li

Marissa Zintel
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology
dianiris Luciano-Rosario, in the lab of Dr. Nancy Keller

“I have always been interested in the combination of medicine and biotechnology, and I got the chance to personally explore that because of the Youth Apprenticeship Program. The amount of hands-on, real-world experiences you can get in this program is unparalleled. I’m fortunate to have such a great mentor who is always eager to teach me more about otolaryngology and support me through everything. After having the opportunity to conduct my own research in laryngeal microbiology and collaborating on papers, I know I want to continue this work in college. I can truly say that the YAP-Biotechnology program has been the highlight of my high school academic career.”

- Madhu Gowda, 2017 graduate and winner of the GRAND PRIZE at the 2017 Capital Science and Engineering Fair

read Madhu's story: Promega Connections