The Lumiere Research Scholar Program provides high school students with an opportunity to research a topic of their choice and write a scholarly article about it. This rigorous program was founded by two passionate Harvard PhD research scholars. The program is tough, however, the outcome is worth the hard work.

I heard about the program during a webinar hosted by my school. One of my classmates was currently pursuing this program and as he spoke about his experiences. I was hooked on it since Research is my dream career. The selection process was not long; however, it was intense. The program requires students to complete a form that outlines the purpose, why we should be chosen, what topic we want to research and our academic achievements. They look for intelligent, curious and hard-working students who can put in consistent effort. Not everyone will be admitted into the program after completing the form. A couple of days later, I received an email that I was chosen to continue onto the interview round. The 20-minute interview’s aim was to know if the program had a suitable mentor to guide me (the student) and if I could handle the workload. I am so glad that I was selected.

My research topic is Genetic Engineering and I am investigating the most efficacious delivery vector for CRISPR/Cas9, a gene editing tool. The program started with four meetings with my mentor, PhD scholar from UC Berkeley. These were lectures that gave me more insight into my research topic, with added help from the scholarly articles to be read every week, that eventually facilitated me to write my paper. The program lasts about 20 weeks, and during the first few weeks, there have been workshops on writing skills. I feel accomplished, having submitted my first draft of the paper, and will soon send the final draft of the paper to a journal for publishing.

This program has hone my research acumen while preparing for my Extended Essay, a practical preparation for undergrad research”. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process though it has been quite rigorous during the last couple of months. I am nearing the end of the program now, with new experiences and knowledge under my belt.

The selection process was not long; however, it was intense. The program requires students to complete a form that outlines the purpose, why we should be chosen, what topic we want to research and our academic achievements. They look for intelligent, curious and hard-working students who can put in consistent effort. Not everyone will be admitted into the program after completing the form. A couple of days later, I received an email that I was chosen to continue onto the interview round. The 20-minute interview’s aim was to know if the program had a suitable mentor to guide me (the student) and if I could handle the workload. I am so glad that I was selected.