Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Makes A Grand Return To Volunteering In The San Antonio Community

Photo Credit: Ray Briggs
Have you ever craved for the opportunity to volunteer and give back to the community, but were unable to do so?
This is the rare situation that many people have faced over the past year and a half due to the pandemic. COVID-19 has greatly limited the options of participating in volunteer activities in order to help prevent the spread of the illness.
Once the call to action was given, the students at The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences jumped at the opportunity to volunteer in the community.
The opportunity presented itself in the form of a familiar event. The 15th Annual Girls Inc RockIt into the Future Science Festival took place on Saturday, November 6th at Cast Med High School on the southside of San Antonio. The festival is a free community event that welcomes girls and young ladies to a celebration of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with many interactive activities. Due to the pandemic, the event was designed to be hybrid in nature. This provided the option for attendees to either drive-thru to receive a STEM care package and/or the opportunity to participate in the interactive activities.
“Volunteering at the event was such a pleasure, especially interacting with individuals of all ages and seeing the joy in the eyes of the future generations at our booth. I always look forward to these community outreach events as it is wonderful to pay it forward,” said Samantha Yee, a student in the 5th year PhD student in the laboratory of Dr. April Risinger.

Photo Credit: Ray Briggs
According to the website, this event allowed girls and their families to explore STEM topics through a structured drive-thru route filled with STEM kits, informational videos, experiments, limited in-person activities, and so much more.
Marcus Webster, student organization liaison in the Graduate Dean’s Office, led the volunteer efforts for the department.
He was “thrilled with the opportunity to finally get back to showcasing science in the community again on behalf of UT Health San Antonio and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS).”
Based on the mood of attendees and volunteers, the event was much needed by all parties involved. To align with the united front that UT Health San Antonio has taken regarding utilizing the correct COVID-19 safety protocols, all participating GSBS volunteers wore masks while working during the event.
The Graduate School had several hands-on activities. One fun activity was a memory match game that featured professions and their respective descriptions. This was intended to display uncommon jobs that many people had never considered instead of the traditional lab scientists that are always associated with the field of science.
“I really enjoyed the variety of interactive activities and look forward to attending the next event!” Janessa Webster, an attendee of the event.
One high school attendee, Te’Jon Riggins, said that he “loved the bus with the 3D printed objects and also the Girls Inc. STEM box full of activities.”
Cameron Brown, an elementary school student who attended with his sister, “was excited to shoot the big bottle into the sky” via a simple engineering setup.
The Graduate School booth also had brain hats that all attendees could create and wear on their head or could follow directions and create at home in their spare time. The brain hats had the different areas of the brain labeled. Additionally, there were candy swag bags and models of both the heart and brain on display. The booth also featured an entertaining prize wheel that could lead to various prizes such at UT Health San Antonio socks, pens, or notepads.
“As a parent of a daughter, or a ‘Girl Dad’, I certainly preach that all girls who focus can accomplish anything that they put their mind to,” Webster said.
There were about 200 registered attendees, plus their families at the festival. Generally, 90 percent of girls indicate learning about new STEM jobs from the annual event (Girls Inc. of San Antonio).
“It was certainly a success! We had a fantastic time reaching out to the community, and the contributions by our phenomenal graduate students were truly appreciated” Webster said.
The overall goal of the event and by Girls Inc. is to create community awareness of STEM opportunities, and provide girls and families with access to STEM experiments. The event was tremendous, and the volunteers and event organizers should certainly be proud of their creative efforts.
In the words of attendee Diamond Brown, “I loved it! I loved everything!”
Written by Marcus Webster
Edited & Published by Charlotte Anthony