Project Water Expands Science Career Possibilities for Milwaukee Public School Students
For two weeks this fall semester, Christina Lim and Sophie Bridwell carefully gathered their microbiology lab equipment, placed it securely in their vehicles, and drove to Milwaukee Public Schools’ Audubon Technology and Communication High School. Their mission: to educate students about the importance of water quality and introduce them to the world of science. This initiative is part of “Project Water,” an educational outreach program aimed at high schools in the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) system that lack sufficient lab equipment or dedicated science rooms.
Christina Lim, a lab manager in Marquette’s Department of Biological Sciences, and Sophie Bridwell, a Ph.D. candidate in microbiology, see this experience as a way to inspire a new generation about the importance of clean water and environmental microbiology. With only a few chairs and tables provided, Lim and Bridwell set up the same lab equipment they use in their Ph.D. and graduate programs to conduct labs for the high school students. Twice a week, they teach three classes a day to around 80 students.
“By teaching them basic microbiology and water quality testing, it introduces the students to new areas that they didn’t know anything about but may have great interest in,” Bridwell says.
In the labs, students tested water quality, including taking local water samples and testing for lead contamination. They also attended field trips to Jones Island Water Reclamation Plant and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences. At Jones Island, students learned about waste management, engineering, and plumbing. At the School of Freshwater Sciences, they explored natural systems and an academic research environment.
“We were able to show the students that this profession is very much in the realm of possibility if that’s what they choose to pursue down the road,” Lim says.
Although the program focuses on educating high school students about water quality issues, the larger aim is to expose students to science lab work and the opportunities available to them after graduation.
“It’s important for people to see that science doesn’t happen in a white ivory tower — you don’t need to be from a certain background or from a certain demographic,” Lim says. “Scientists come in different types and it’s important for them to see that science is accessible to them.”
Project Water began in 2015 with funding secured by Kiana Yang, a postdoctoral researcher in the Opus College of Engineering, and Dr. Krassi Hristova, a professor of biological sciences in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. In 2019, Dr. Chris Marshall, an assistant professor of applied and environmental microbiology, joined the effort until the pandemic paused the program in 2020.
Last fall, Marshall helped revive the program with Hristova and new funding from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. In 2023, Marshall took over the program, which is now organized and based out of his lab.
“Project Water doesn’t just focus on water quality issues,” Marshall says. “It’s also trying to expose the students to the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and the possibility of a career within it.”
source: today.marquette.edu
