UCORE program gives students real life experience in the lab

Looking for a summer job?  Undergraduate Catalytic Outreach and Research Experiences (UCORE) is accepting applications until the end of February for their internship program built to further student education and give them real life experience.

“The program is a life changing experience,” Geology instructor and UCORE liaison Jason Aase said; “Grad school becomes less scary and it all seems possible.”

The UCORE program pays students a stipend of $3900 for 10 weeks of work. The students stay in University of Oregon’s dorms and the program pays for room and board.

In UCORE, the student becomes a vital part of a science experiment in chemistry, geology, or physics.

“I worked in an organic chemistry lab synthesizing an organic molecule that can potentially be used as an anion sensor in the future.  This may give us the edge to treat diseases like cystic fibrosis,” explained science and nursing student Sean Singh, who participated in UCORE last year.

The program allows the students to work five days a week and have free time to do what they wish on the weekends.  In many ways it’s just like a normal summer job with benefits aimed towards students.

Students are expected to return to community college after their summer UCORE experience to fulfill the second part of the program. The outreach portion is where previous UCORE students can work as tutors or lab assistants for $10 an hour during the school year.

Students must apply as soon as possible to have an opportunity to join UCORE. The aplication deadline is the end of February.

There’s an application along with other criteria that must be filled out, followed by an interview through UCC that decides the top candidates that will be sent to University of Oregon.

“We elected to interview our candidates with a group including faculty, former UCORE students, and the UCORE director from Oregon,” detailed Aase. “We decide whom to send as a group. So far it’s been a good process and we’ve been happy with the students we’ve sent.”

To all thinking of applying, Singh advises, “Do it, it’s an amazing experience.”

UCORE is open to students 17 or older who have completed a college science sequence with lab. An application complete with unofficial transcripts and two letters of recommendation are due by the end of February for students who are interested. The application is available online at www.uoregon.edu/~msiuo/undergrad/ucore/ucore.html.

The Mainstream is a student publication of Umpqua Community College.