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

“Hi Mrs. Bielec, I hope the beginning of a new school year is going well for you and your new biotech students. I was just thinking to myself how grateful I am for you making us read so many journal articles! I remember when you told our class that we’d thank you for this one day, and you were right. I am currently sitting in a cochlear implant conference and I’m very glad you taught us how to understand this kind of complex information. I look around at my classmates and I can tell they are struggling a little more with interpreting the graphs and research being presented. I will always be grateful of my biotech experience and I will always cherish the connections I made with you and my classmates. Have a wonderful day!”

- Lindsey Kreul, 2017 YAP graduate - 10/18/19 e-mail to Barbara Bielec, K-12 Program Director

Second Year Seniors

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

First Year Seniors and Juniors

Conner Arneson
School: Mount Horeb High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Genetic Visions
Christy Neis

Erin Brakob
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Horticulture
Dr. Philipp Simon

Meghan Detra
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Biochemistry
Joshua Choi, Gilbert Loiseau, and Gladys Diaz-Vazquez
in the lab of Dr. Alessandro Senes

Arhat Dwa
School: Verona Area High School

Magnus Eckholm
School: Sun Prairie High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Botany
Ximing Che, in the lab of Dr. Edgar Spalding

Shreya Godishala
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Botany
Arkadipta Bakshi and Dr. Richard Barker,
in the lab of Dr. Simon Gilroy

Lexi Greiber
School: Waunakee High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Wisconsin Crop innovation Center
Dr. Ray Collier and Michael Petersen

Samantha Havlicek
School: Stoughton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Dr. Dawn Dudley, in the lab of Dr. Dave O’Connor

Ayla-Rae Hebl
School: Sun Prairie High School

Liam Hemminger
School: Sun Prairie High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Will Bothfeld, in the lab of Dr. Brian Pfleger

Garrett Housley
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Kirk Van der Muelen, in the lab of Dr. Brian G. Fox

Kerstin Hurd
School: Waterloo High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Entomology
Nolan Amon, in the lab of Dr. Christelle Guédot

Reilly Kiffel
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Sarah Bennett, in the lab of Dr. Matthew Reynolds

Jayden Lee
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Athena Golfinos and Amy Ellis, in the lab of Dr. Shelby O’Connor

Lizzie Maly
School: McFarland High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Morgridge Institute for Research
Sophie Mancha, Andrea Scheifelbein, and Amani Gillette,
in the lab of Dr. Melissa Skala

Alex Parker
School: Oregon High School
Worksite & Mentor:
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Nate Kuch, in the lab of Dr. Brian G. Fox

Sophia Patton
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Human Oncology
Dr. Mari Iida, in the lab of Dr. Deric L Wheeler

Thomas Silver
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Genetics
Dr. Russel Wrobel, in the lab of Dr. Chris Hittinger

Beniamin Twardowski-Bentkowski
School: Middleton High School
Worksite & Mentor:
UW-Madison Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Dr. Roger Wiseman, in the lab of Dr. Dave O’Connor

“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