Monterey County teens participate in “BioJam” that introduces hands-on science

SALINAS, Calif. - Monterey County teens are participating in this year’s “BioJam”, which introduces students to hands-on science courses.

BioJam is a three-week summer program that specifically targets migrant teens. They’ll take these experiments and take them back to their communities, possibly even sparking a future career. 

BioJam is in full swing at Salinas High School and gives students a chance to learn about history from a science perspective and how it impacted their culture. BioJam camper, Adrian Salazar, has learned a lot about that impact. 

“It also teaches us a lot about history such as Aztec history,” Salazar said. “It has taught us a lot about how we can help our community and the Hispanic community here in Salinas, California and the whole country in general, physically, those who work in agriculture.” 

The direct partnership between BioJam and the Migrant Education Program has been happening for two years now to help educate migrant students all around Monterey County. Jose Garcia is one of the teachers who help educate these students. 

“This helps the students see okay, so my family's been impacted by these different kinds of issues that are going on with my parents and their work,” Garcia said. “And this is what I'm learning that can make a difference and the voice that I have that I could promote and push forward these changes to happen in these kinds of dominant systems of business that we have in agricultural labor.”

The instructors said that BioJam camp has helped many migrant students build enough confidence to take what they learn to use in the future. Callie Chappell, who has worked at BioJam since 2019 has seen the amazing things students do after the program. 

“Things that I've been involved in are helping the teens present at conferences to have the teens write scientific papers that we've published, to have the teens be part of podcasts, to have a voice well beyond their community, as community leaders, Chappell said. “And so, I just feel really honored to have the opportunity to learn and I really invite others to be a part of it too.” 

BioJam camp at Salinas High School has one more week left. From there, the 25 or so students are taking a trip to UC Santa Cruz and an aquaponics farm in Half Moon Bay later this week. One of the Stanford students who helped create BioJam grew up in Salinas, too.