New Year, Same Community: Welcome to 2025!
With a new year upon us, we may experience a mixture of feelings such as excitement and anticipation, or uncertainty and stress. These feelings are normal, and most if not all of us can relate to this.
In other words, we are not alone in approaching this new year, meaning we here to support each other. Despite the changing of times or seasons, in our SPIN Girls community, the connections, friendships, and relationships that we built and continue to build with each other give us strength to tackle challenges and reach goals. Through this same, lovely community, we can continue to face new changes and novelties during this new year with confidence.
SPIN Girls Monthly Newsletter Re-Launch
If you missed last month's newsletter, we’re excited to announce that we have relaunched our SPIN Girls Newsletter! Each month, we’ll share updates to keep SPIN Girls’ families informed about the amazing activities and accomplishments of your youth. In this first newsletter of the year, you’ll find highlights of recent updates, SPIN Girls Team highlights, details about our latest program, and a preview of upcoming events for December. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out!
- SPIN Girls Team
Embracing our 2024-2025 Motto:
SPIN Forward!
We’re in full swing, and it’s been so exciting to see the energy and enthusiasm the youth are bringing to the program! They’re diving into all kinds of fascinating topics, fully embracing our new motto, and their curiosity is truly inspiring. Watching them ask thoughtful questions, jump into last month’s workshops, and make the most of every moment has been amazing. And honestly, while they’re learning so much, we’re learning just as much from them every single day!
We are in the process of transitioning from the name SPIN Girls to a new one that more accurately represents the diversity and inclusivity of our community, including gender-expansive youth. Adopting a neutral motto is a crucial first step in this shift. SPIN Girls welcomes cis girls, trans youth, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and non-binary youth.
SPIN Forward is all about embracing a forward-thinking mindset, using STEAM to ignite curiosity, encourage teamwork, and spark real change. It’s not just about preparing young minds for the future—it’s about empowering them to shape it.
Haven't Finished Registration? Register Here!
Riddle of the Month!
I’m something people often make,
A promise for their own self's sake.
I aim to help you grow and thrive,
And keep your goals and dreams alive.
What am I?
Recap of Field Day #1
Our first Field Day was an incredible success! 🌟 We partnered with UW medical staff and students to host a Doctor for a Day experience.
Students explored exciting medical careers, diving into specialties like neonatology, adolescent medicine, and pulmonology.
Loved this event? Follow UW's Doctor for a Day on Instagram here!
What Did We Learn About?
This program focused on empowering youth through immersive, hands-on learning experiences that brought medical concepts to life. Here’s what we explored together:
Caring for Others: Participants learned essential skills like helping newborns breathe, listening to a baby’s heartbeat, and understanding the role of neonatal care doctors. It was so fun to see them learn hands-on how doctors provide dedicated care for tiny, premature babies. They also dove into lung health by identifying various conditions and even had the chance to try on a COPD vest, experiencing firsthand how this device helps people with chronic lung issues breathe easier.
Q&A Session: We ended the day with a vibrant Q&A session where participants asked thoughtful questions, shared feedback, and discovered the diverse paths doctors take to enter the medical field. These stories underscored that there are many routes to a rewarding career in healthcare.
Caring for Ourselves: We engaged in meaningful discussions about the importance of sleep, building strong routines, and fostering supportive systems to promote overall well-being.
The Highlight: They embraced the role of a doctor for a day, sparking curiosity and confidence in their ability to make an impact in medicine.
We can’t wait to see these bright and passionate young minds grow into the compassionate healthcare caretakers of tomorrow!
Upcoming Events
SPIN Girls Hangout! 🎨🌈
Friday, January 10th: 5:00 p.m. -7:30 p.m.
This hangout will be hosted at our Lab Days location, which is the Renton Technical College Annex.
Our main activity will be decorating SPIN Girls merchandise or your own clothes! We will have patches, patterns, fabric, paints, markers, and other goodies for you to personalize your clothing and inspire your creative being. Come bond with other SPIN Girls and enjoy free pizzas and snacks too!
SPIN Girls Lab Day 2! 🧪🥼
Saturday, January 18th: 9:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
Join us for our second lab day! We will be diving deeper into the topics we tapped into in November! Let us know you are coming, RSVP below.
RSVP Here: SPIN Girls Hangout and Lab Day 2
Keeping Up with the SPIN Girls Team!
Meet 9th Grade Mentor: Kim Foster
Introduce yourself a little:
Hi, I’m Kim Foster, and I am a fifth year graduate student in the University of Washington Immunology department! I currently conduct research on tuberculosis, which is the #1 infectious disease killer in the world. As of right now, there is only one vaccine for tuberculosis that is outdated and not very effective, so alongside other researchers, I am trying to develop new vaccines or treatments to address it.
I went to Foster High School in Tukwila, and originally wanted to be a writer for a magazine or newspaper outlet. However, when I learned about the immune system in my high school biology class, I was fascinated by it and later became a biochemistry major. In university, I took an immunology course that furthered my curiosity in the immune system. After my undergraduate years, I worked at Fred Hutch to do research (which you can find here), applied to graduate school, and I’ve been here since then.
When I am not working in the lab, I enjoy being inside and doing cozy activities. I love playing video games, and some of my favorites include Baldur’s Gate 3, Stardew Valley, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild!
What is your current job?
In graduate school, I have a project to work on, which is basically my job. My project can be described as analyzing images of lungs that have been affected by tuberculosis to find out how to promote specific lesions developed in the lungs that allow for better immunity against the disease. This can help create a drug that encourages the immune system to develop those specific lesions in the lungs so that a person is better protected against tuberculosis.
Could you tell us more about graduate school?
I am in a PhD program in graduate school which means in order for me to complete my studies I need to find a new piece of information and publish that data in a scientific journal to contribute to the scientific knowledge of the world. Typically graduate school takes five years to complete, but depending on how your research progresses that could be longer or shorter! In addition to doing research for my thesis, I present my data in meetings, read the scientific literature to keep up to date in my field of research, TA for undergraduate students, and take classes. One really great thing about graduate school is that I get to choose my own schedule. On days where I have a lot experimentally going on I can stay late, but if I’m more free, I can work from home or take a day off as needed.
What future goals do you have?
Well, first and foremost, my goal is to make it out of graduate school. While this journey has been stressful and lots of work - sometimes I work for 12 hours each day for a few days, or up to 80 hours a week - graduate school is rewarding and paved the way for acquiring valuable skills and experiences that will prepare me for my future goals. For instance, it has taught me how to synthesize information and create new ideas, think critically and logically, and be persistent and patient.
Aside from this goal, my other future goals are to either go into biomedical research industries, like developing pharmaceuticals, or working in community outreach. This includes encouraging youth to engage more with STEM and promoting science education and awareness, such as its importance and relevance.
If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
I would describe myself in these three words: loud, curious, and fun. I am expressive about my thoughts and feelings, often resulting in me loving to talk (or yap) with other people. In addition to being open to connecting with people, I am open to learning new things; in other words, being curious! I think my curiosity is what inspires my passion for science. While there are many challenges in science, whether an experiment not being successful or a hypothesis failed, being curious gives me the willingness to seek out and try out new ideas or options that could solve the problems I encounter.
Although I am serious about my work, I also enjoy having lots of fun and a work life balance. Whenever I am on break or away from my work, the last thing I want to talk about with my coworkers is work-related things. What some of my coworkers have told me recently is that I am sort of a “distracting” person since I frequently find ways to have fun or distress from work. I don’t think this has a negative connotation since it is more of a light-hearted joke. What this highlights is it is important to work hard but to also have fun. This applies to school as well; have a good work life, or school life, balance!
What motivated you to join SPIN Girls?
When I was in high school, I was in a program similar to SPIN Girls that lasted two weeks in the summer. During this program, based on our own choice, we learned more about one of these three areas of research: HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. In addition, we learned how to do basic science research and how to culture cells and bacteria. Then at the end, we presented our “research.” We also had guest lecturers and listened to seminars to learn about all three diseases.
The program is now called the Research Training Program for High School Students coordinated by the Seattle Children’s Hospital. The coordinators of this program wanted to encourage more people of color, and other underprivileged communities, to explore science and gain confidence in their ability to pursue a career in science. Because this experience has supported me greatly in high school, I want to give back by supporting SPIN Girls’ efforts towards increasing accessibility and awareness of STEAM education among youth.
What are you most looking forward to this year in SPIN Girls?
I’ve been with SPIN Girls for a few years now, but I always look forward to all the lab days. During these lab days, I get the opportunity to interact with students, create new connections, and continue building on past connections with students, which are all things I enjoy and love about SPIN Girls because we are all here to support each other.
What advice would you give to current SPIN Girls students?
Step outside of your comfort zone, and do not be afraid to try things out! Trying something out can be scary because you do not know if you’ll enjoy it or be successful at it, but by the end of it, you’ll know yourself better and what you like or do not like.
Also, do not stress if you do not know what you want to do yet by the end of high school. There can be significant stress or pressure to know as soon as possible, but you have lots of time to explore. Try out a bunch of different things, even if they’re not directly related to what you want to do. You can still gain experiences that can help strengthen your understanding and expand your knowledge.
In addition, be willing to approach people, especially those who are in the fields you are interested in. Connect with them and ask questions; take advantage of the opportunity to learn from these professionals who love it when youth want to learn more about their job or career.
Meet Your Newsletter Social Butterflies! 🦋
Lauren Canto (she/her)
SPIN Girls Program Coordinator
10th Grade Cohort Lead
Jie Ying (she/her)
SPIN Girls Co-Director of Social Media
8th Grade Cohort Lead
