Gain Hands-on Research Experience in Summer High School Freshwater Program
High school freshwater scholar participants visit the Oneida Nation Buffalo Overlook during one of their field trips
When Maddie Mueller saw an Instagram post about a summer high school freshwater program at UW-Green Bay, she immediately applied.
“I plan to go into the freshwater science field and wanted some real in-lab experiences.” says Mueller, a senior at Oshkosh West High School. “Being able to go into my freshman year of college with prior lab experiences will definitely be useful!”
Mueller conducted water quality and phosphorus pollution research in summer 2024 as part of UW-Green Bay’s High School Summer Scholars Program, which was developed with funding from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin.
Emily Tyner, director of freshwater strategy at UW-Green Bay, would like to hire 10-12 high school students for summer 2025. Applications are due April 14. More information here.
Students selected for the program receive a stipend of $1,500 to participate in 120 hours of active research. They work side-by-side with faculty, undergraduate and graduate student mentors and researchers.
In addition, participants explore water science careers through field trips and presentations. They are also invited to present a poster of their work at the annual Lakeshore Water Summit in October 2025.
This year’s research projects will be based in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Appleton and Two Rivers. Participants will work on a UW-Green Bay faculty research project or with one of three partner organizations — Wisconsin Sea Grant, Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust, or Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve.
Students will work on research related to water-quality monitoring, lake sturgeon reproduction, bird monitoring, agricultural runoff, blue-green algae blooms, conservation engagement, or environmental education.
Mueller worked with a research team led by Erin Berns-Herrboldt, assistant professor, that is looking at phosphorus pollution. The one-on-one mentorship maximized her learning.
“Going into the internship, I had a strong idea of what I wanted to eventually achieve, but not the classes or knowledge of what I needed to do to earn it,” she says. “[Through the program,] I was exposed to a wider variety of majors within the freshwater field.”
She now feels prepared to start a bachelor’s degree program at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences in fall.
Learn more about the program and the project mentors.
Written by Heidi Jeter, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin
