Phil Boseglav, left, and Morgan Zabzinski check out the H8 hypnosquare Zabzinski made as part of the student mentorship program.

Twenty-five of Niagara’s brightest high school students got a taste of Brock this year through the annual Brock Mentorship Program.

Gifted students from eight Niagara high schools spent a semester working with Brock researchers in Mathematics and Science, Applied Health Sciences and Social Sciences. It was the 17th year of the program and the largest group of participants to date.

Morgan Zabzinski, 17, from Stamford Collegiate in Niagara Falls was one of the participants. He worked with Phil Boseglav, a lab demonstrator who teaches electronics and physics, during a semester that culminated with him making an H8 hypnosquare.

Zabzinski joined the program because he wanted the university experience and the chance to work with an expert.

“I aspire to go into physics, and I liked the hands-on learning aspect of it,” he said. “I also experienced the university learning environment while I was still in high school.”

It was Bogeslav’s first year as a mentor, but he’d like to do it again. Zabzinski proved to be an able student, and every day they worked together, they’d reach a new benchmark, he said.

“It was nice to see someone pick something up as quickly as Morgan did and expand their horizons.”

The program was founded by Joe Engemann, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education. This year, he co-ordinated the program with Heather Bellisario, academic advisor and liaison officer in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science.

Staff and faculty from 10 departments participated. They were, in addition to Bogeslav:

• Martin Lemaire
• Bozidar Mitrovic
• Karen Arnell
• Liette Vasseur
• Deena Erampalli
• Kim Gammage
• Paul Zelisko
• Tom McDonald
• Frank Feuten
• Deb O’Leary
• Heather Gordon
• Dawn Good
• Sid Segalowitz
• Ping Liang
• Cheryl McCormick
• Bareket Falk
• Joffre Mercier
• Doug Bruce
• Travis Dudding

This year’s program ended with a symposium on Feb. 23. Students presented their findings on subjects ranging from blood pressure in adolescents to the production of synthetic embryos through cloning in geraniums.

Since its first year, more than 250 students from 20 high schools have participated, being mentored by more than 70 Brock faculty and staff.