Signals AZ

Bradshaw Mountain High School Junior Chosen for Prestigious University of Arizona Internship

Jose

Bradshaw Mountain High School junior Jose “AJ ” Villafana recently applied for the University of Arizona KEYS Research Internship, a unique summer experience where a few high school students interested in bioscience, engineering, environmental health, or biostatistics get the opportunity to work alongside University of Arizona faculty in laboratories at the school. After missing the cut in his sophomore year, Villafana applied again hoping to be accepted into the prestigious seven-week program.

That acceptance call came for Villafana on Wednesday, February 13th, as KEYS Program Coordinator Brooke Moreno Skyped into Villafana’s first-period science class with Mr. Chris Dalpiaz.

“I just feel good that I got into the program, I’m excited,” Villafana said, adding he wants to do biomedical engineering at the University of Arizona and then go to medical school. “As soon as he (Dalpiaz) opened Skype and I saw it, I was like, I got it because I knew nobody else applied.”

The surprise was set up to look as an informational session on the internship. Once Villafana’s parents Jessica and Andres entered the room with Bradshaw Mountain High School Principal Kort Miner, Moreno and Dalpiaz told Villafana he was accepted into the program.

“You always want to see your kids excel..only a few people get to attend this and for your kid to be that person, it’s awesome,” Andres said. “We’ve always been the type to say hey if you want something, you got to push it. We’re not going to do it for you. It was totally on him and he did it.”

In a phone interview with Signals, Moreno said Villafana was right at the cutoff when he applied the first time in his sophomore year, saying they decided to allow the opportunity for juniors and seniors. The hope was he would apply again in his junior year.

“When we saw that he reapplied, we were really excited and it was a very easy decision to offer him an interview,” Moreno said. “What struck me the most (in the interview) was the very clear articulation of his scientific interest. Often times with students, I have to do a back and forth with them to kind of dig out what it is they want to research this summer.”

“With Jose (Villafana), it was clear,” Moreno continued. “He was concise, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and there wasn’t a lot of flowery language.”

Moreno mentioned one of the greatest takeaways of the KEYS program is the development of professional social skills while working with PhDs, undergraduate students and professional research staff.

In addition to professional social skill development, Moreno said students receive college credit after successful completion. During the programs, students work on intensive science literacy assignments that are to be completed weekly.

The internship also automatically applies Villafana into the University of Arizona honors program.

Outside the classroom, Villafana plays soccer and baseball for Bradshaw Mountain High School while continuing to carry a high GPA.

Photo Gallery by Torrence Dunham / Signals

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