Ketchikan High School seniors Franchezca Correa and Steven Dilts had the opportunity to sample the college experience at the University of Alaska Fairbanks this summer through the Rural Alaska Honors Institute program.
"Take a Crash Course in College Success," reads the introduction to RAHI on its website, www.uaf.edu/rahi/about.php.
RAHI is a completely free, competitive six-week program "that gives rural and Alaska Native students a chance to find out what it's like to be a college student. Students live in the UAF dormitories and take eight to 11 college credits while in the program. They also explore the area through outdoor activities and volunteer in the Fairbanks community.
The program runs from May 31 to July 15.
Correa and Dilts sat down in the Kayhi library on Monday to share the experiences they had while in the program.
Correa said that "we went to classes from 8 to 5 ... we got to do the stuff that kids do in college classes."
Correa said that she had chosen the research track, while Dilts said he chose the traditional track, in which there are different subjects that students can choose to focus on. Dilts was the salutatorian for his group, he said.
Dilts said that the traditional track offered a variety of classes, allowing students to explore topics such as library information and research, and study skills, in addition to the science classes that he chose.
"It just informed us on applying to colleges and budgeting and such," he said.
Dilts said he had a lot of time to talk with his professor because of the small class size. He garnered a lot of information about chemistry, and science areas he might be interested in.
"Before and after I'd been thinking about physics as my major, but having talked with him, it just gave me more of an insight about how professors in that world communicate their information," he said, noting publishing papers as a method of communication.
While focusing on research, Correa said she worked in a lab on campus.
"I was able to access the files that they have in their libraries for research, and it was really interesting," she said.
"We worked on lab technique and the stuff you'd need to know to function in a lab independently," she said. "We did microbiology, and ecosystems because we took field samples, and we went out to the lake" to take samples of the water and the soil to assess what type of bacteria was present.
They ran the samples through a program that determines the type of bacteria found, Correa said.
"Before RAHI I was already intending to do research, but it gave me a better idea of what it actually looked like, and it solidified my intent in wanting to do a science field," She explained.
Correa said that she is considering studying biomedical engineering, biochemistry or possibly software engineering in college.
"Bioinformatics is kind of where I wanted to go with that field, and it's really interesting to me," she said, explaining that bioinformatics is a focus on the use of the machines that analyze and interpret samples of biological material.
Dilts described the excursions that the program participants were offered.
"We went to Denali Park, we went on a couple of hikes," he said.
Correa added that they'd gone whitewater rafting and took a trip to Chena Hot Springs as well.
Of the rafting, "that's something that I'd never done before, and it pushed me out of my comfort zone a lot," Correa said, laughing, "because I'm not the type to really go outside, to be honest."
She said that they also visited a nearby sled dog kennel, which was interesting. The focus was on learning the dietary needs of the performance dogs. They studied stool samples, for example, and were taught how to tell by observation whether the dogs were healthy.
Dilts said they were kept very busy with scheduled activities, and had little free time.
After the long day of classes, all participants then worked in a scheduled study hall period after dinner that lasted until 9 p.m., then students were expected to be in their beds by 10 p.m.
Dilts said that his favorite part of participating in the program was socializing and meeting new friends.
For Correa, being able to work in the lab was her favorite part.
"The lab equipment there was a lot better and more specialized than the lab equipment we have in high schools," she said.
She added that, "in RAHI, I was able to really get into the lab doing micropipetting, using the machinery, and culturing microbiota. It's really interesting."
The research classes offered included Biomedical Sciences, Basic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Chemistry Labs, Correa said.
Dilts said that his classes included Chemistry and Complex Systems, and Writing Across Contexts.
At the end of the program, they were required to write final papers compiling the research they'd accomplished during the six weeks there.
Both students said they had to take yoga classes, which was nice, Correa said, but often were far longer than either appreciated — and were held outdoors, which made them too hot for their Southeast Alaskan thermostats.
"If you wore pants, you were gone," Correa said.
Another challenge that Fairbanks offered to the Ketchikan students was the midnight sun. They found it difficult to sleep in rooms that were bright all night, and then were surprised to be unable to find sleep masks at any stores. Dilts said he finally found one at a tourist shop, and Correa said she just put up with little sleep.
Correa mentioned the side effect of RAHI she didn't expect: "RAHI made me more athletic."
Even getting to class in the morning required a long walk up a steep hill, Correa said.
Dilts said that for him, the most challenging part of the program was the packed schedule. He agreed with Correa, however, that they had time for many fun socializing opportunities while there.
They agreed that the feeling of being micromanaged by dormitory staff was the most challenging aspect of their experience.
Correa said that in some way, when she felt she needed to stand up for fellow students who were having a hard time with the staff, she learned a valuable lesson in how to be more assertive and to advocate for herself and others.
Correa said that eating the prepared food during the program was a bit of a challenge as well.
"I come from a loving Filipino home," she said. "To go from that — traditionally made meals every single day to college cafeteria — I was not really happy about it, to be honest."
Even more challenging was that the kitchen was often off-limits to the students, so she often was unable to cook for herself. Trips to the store also were difficult to schedule, as well.
When asked if they'd been surprised by anything about the program, Dilts said it was mostly the pesky wildlife in Fairbanks.
"I did not know Fairbanks had so many mosquitoes," he said, adding, "I think I counted at one point, I had over 50 bug bites."
Correa said that one weekend all of the students camped in a cabin for a couple of days, where they collected a memorable number of mosquito bites.
"You could connect the stars on your legs," Correa said, laughing.
Correa said that she would tell a student who was considering applying for the program that, "if you want to get a good idea of what college kind of looks like, and you kind of don't really know what you want to go into specifically, you'll see whether college is the right thing for you."
Dilts said his advice would be, "if you're trying to decide whether or not you want to go to college, then you can do that, but go in with the mindset that it'll be slightly different so you don't get a false impression. But, if you're just trying to get a leg up on college, I think it's really great for that."