Finding paths into the so-called STEM fields – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – remains especially challenging for minorities. But a first-of-its kind program between Georgia Tech and two single-gender Atlanta high schools is working to change the trend.

Project ENGAGE (Engaging New Generations at Georgia Tech through Engineering), an initiative of the Westside Communities Alliance, is an internship program which allows local high school students to actively participate in scientific research under the guidance of Master's and Ph.D. students and faculty members. Students will complete the internship over the course of the 2013-2014 school year. The goal of the program is two-fold: to raise high-school student awareness of the biotechnology world through hands-on research projects and to improve the schools’ current science education program through the teacher training initiative.

Listen as Jim Burress, reporter and host for WABE, follows the progress of students over the course of their year in Project ENGAGE.