In high school, I spent my summers working in a shoe shop and playing soccer with my mates. It never occurred to me that I could do something really worthwhile with that time. So, when I met the high school students who took part in the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s SPARK program, I realized I had wasted a lot of time.

SPARK summer

For those not familiar with SPARK, it stands for Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge. It’s a summer program offering high school students a chance to work in a world-class stem cell and gene therapy research facility. The quality of their work is truly remarkable. By the end of the summer, they are doing projects that many full-time researchers would be proud of.

As part of the program, the students also write blogs and post photos and videos to Instagram to track their progress. The quality of that work is equally impressive. Last week we posted about the two best student blogs. But there were so many other strong entries that we thought it was worth highlighting elements of them.

Ricardo

For instance, Ricardo Rodriguez at Charles R. Drew University had some interesting observations on life, even when it’s not always working out the way you planned:

“Cancer is not life going wrong so much as it is life changing. If mutation is random, then so is life. That beautiful randomness drives evolution and extinction, change and stagnation, life and death, and for you to think that part of your body could be simple in any way, whether simply evil, simply inconvenient, or simply structured, is hilarious. There is beauty in your body’s complexity, adaptability, and resilience, and these attributes are not barred from any part of your life.”

Mindy Rodriguez at Beckman City of Hope says she learned valuable lessons from working with mice, creatures she previously considered scary, dirty, and vicious, but later came to like:

“The CIRM SPARK program reinforced the value of facing my fears by exploring the unknown and, most importantly, taught me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. In both cases, I found that our response to fear shapes who we are. We can either run away from the thing that scares us or take each moment as a learning opportunity, embracing change over comfort.”

Manvi

Manvi Ketireddy at UC Davis had a similar experience, learning to accept when things don’t work out.

“A researcher must be persistent and have the ability to endure lots of failures. I think that is what I love about research: the slight possibility of discovery and answers amid constant defeat is one of the greatest challenges. And boy, do I love challenges.”

Ameera

Ameera Ali at Sanford Burnham Prebys says she struggled for years to choose a career direction, but the internship gave her a fresh perspective.

“Growing up, I never really knew what I wanted to do for a living, and I think that’s because I wanted to do everything. In kindergarten, I wanted to be a paleontologist. In 5th grade, I wanted to be the CEO of The San Diego Union Tribune, and in 9th grade I wanted to be a physicist at NASA. By 10th grade, I was having an existential crisis about what to do with my life, and at 15, I began searching for my purpose.

So now, writing this blog, I never thought I’d end up spending so much of my time in a room filled floor to ceiling with fish tanks. You might be wondering how one goes from physicist to fish farmer. Well, I’m not completely sure to be honest, but it’s been a very fun and interesting experience nonetheless.”

By the end, she says what initially felt like mundane chores were actually moments worth celebrating.

“These aquatic friends have taught me a lot of valuable life lessons, like being appreciative of the little things in life, caring for others seeing things from a different perspective, and realizing that

working in a biology lab allows me to explore my passions, be creative, and be a mother to hundreds of fish children on the side.”

Alexa Gastelum

SPARK attracts students from across California, and that diversity is part of its strength.

“My name is Alexa Gastelum, and I am from Calexico, a small border town in the Imperial Valley about two hours from San Diego. I learned about this internship from my math teacher and Mesa coordinator. As soon as they explained it, I knew I wanted to apply. I’ve always loved labs and research, and opportunities like this are rare in my low‑income hometown.

“My family was very supportive. They knew spending the summer away from home was worth it. I wrote my personal statement about Alzheimer’s, a disease that runs in my family and took my uncle. That connection sparked my interest in understanding how it works and affects the brain.”

At the SPARK event, Alexa told me her grandmother was so proud that she went around town telling everyone Alexa had been accepted. Her grandmother—and so many other proud families—had every reason to celebrate. These students are remarkable, and we look forward to seeing where their paths lead in the years ahead.