BestJustice Program

Bronx Environmental Health Summer Training for Justice (BestJustice) is a structured, 8-week summer environmental health sciences research program for students from The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology (MS/HS223) in the Bronx. The program is a collaboration between Columbia University, The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology (MS/HS223), and South Bronx Unite, a local non-profit grassroot organization.

Through the BestJustice Program, high school students participate in a broad range of activities to prepare them for a career in environmental health sciences and adjacent STEM fields. During the first 3 weeks students enroll into Columbia University's Summer High School Academic Program for Engineers (SHAPE). Through SHAPE, students participate in project-based courses in engineering that are relevant to biomedical and health sciences. In weeks 4-8, students apply the skills they learned in SHAPE to conduct locally relevant environmental health sciences research. Participants receive mentorship by their science teachers, South Bronx Unite, as well as Columbia University faculty and graduate students.

Furthermore, students receive training in scientific writing, communication, and research translation that results in 1) formal scientific poster presentations during a mini-symposium at the end of the summer program, 2) presentations to the local communities, with an infographic appropriate for a general audience, and 3) oral presentations to their high school science class/school.

Participants are also provided with the skills needed to create competitive applications for admission into undergraduate programs or technical schools, especially fields relevant for EHS/STEM. College prep includes deciding on the right college and starting the college application process, reading and writing activities to improve college essays, exercises to calculate the cost of attendance and resources on scholarships and other types of financial aid, guidance for parents, a discussion panel and feature stories of college experiences from diverse students, and opportunities to use BestJustice Program program advisors as references or for letters of recommendation.

Importance of Environmental Health Sciences in the Bronx

The Bronx experiences some of the worst traffic congestion in the entire United States. Children in this community are at particular risk of being negatively impacted by traffic-related health outcomes, as schools, playgrounds and public housing complexes are located adjacent to highways. Within the Bronx, rates of asthma hospitalization have been linked to density of industrial facilities, perhaps due to the increased traffic-burden brought on by these facilities. In addition to traffic-related air pollution, noise is of particular concern among South Bronx community members. Through a community-academic partnership, South Bronx Unite and Columbia University researchers co-developed low-cost customizable noise level and air pollution sensors with high school students enrolled at X223 to collect highly spatially and temporally resolved data in the South Bronx. The co-development of these low-cost customizable noise level and air pollution sensors was a direct call to the high traffic-related air and noise pollution experienced by this working-class, primarily community of color. Building on this program, BestJustice allows X223 high school students to conduct premier research while working side-by-side with investigators and communities who are deeply connected to and invested in addressing serious environmental hazards affecting their local communities.

For more information and ways to support the program, please contact:

Markus Hilpert, Program Director