September 2025
Students at Garrett Morgan celebrating as newly published authors!
JoYS release parties
We recently hosted two separate Journal of Young Scientists release parties at Garrett Morgan School of Engineering and Innovation and Lincoln-West School of Science and Health for students in our Life as a Scientist program during the 2024-25 school year!
These events are always one of the best days of the school year for our organization. Students were recognized as newly published authors and received their personal copies of the journal. The culmination of a year’s worth of curiosity, colaboration experimentation, and persistence. The pride and excitement felt by the students was clear and often voiced to party attendees. It was inspiring to watch them celebrate this milestone alongside Rise Up volunteers, classmates, and families, while enjoying plenty of celebration sugar!
The 2025 edition of the Journal of Young Scientists is available to read online for FREE! If you’d like your own print copy, we’d be happy to send you a one, simply make a donation amount of your choosing and reach out to us.
In next month’s newsletter, we will profile the winners of our annual Caplan Research Awards which is awarded to outstanding student research groups in the Life as a Scientist program!
Juan helping a student pipette
Volunteer spotlight
This month we will be featuring our last volunteer spotlight of the year. We have a special interview with the recent winner of the Janel Callon Outreach Award! This prize is given to a volunteer who is dedicated to consistent, meaningful interactions with students in the program. This award recognizes volunteers who are helping students through this process with encouragement and empowerment along with being present on a weekly basis. This award was created in honor of Janel Callon who is the co-founder and CEO of the Ichigo Foundation, a foundation that focuses on college access and success for people from under-resourced communities. A vital individual supporter of Rise Up, Janel has worked as a lawyer, counselor, college advisor, and Ichigo Foundation leader. We are grateful for her support!
The Janel Callon Outreach Award for the 2024-2025 school year is presented to Juan Jeffrey! Juan has been involved with Rise Up since the very beginning, and we are deeply grateful for his impact on our organization. Outside of the classroom and his work at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Juan continues to be a lover of knowledge and discovery. As you’ll learn, Juan is a true renaissance man! Check out our recent interview with him:
Tell us a fun fact about yourself or something you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy reading, fishing, gardening, biking, camping, kayaking and spending time with my two cats in my free time. A fun fact about me is that I like roaches and I have a “pet” colony of dubia cockroaches (Blaptica dubia) that are the descendants of a container of roaches I originally purchased to use as fishing bait.
How did you get started volunteering with Rise Up?
I saw a flyer at work and decided it sounded like fun so I signed up.
What motivates you to give back to the community?
I remember how much I enjoyed extracurricular science activities at school, including when speakers would come to explain scientific concepts and do demonstrations, and I wanted to participate in that tradition. Also, my mother used to volunteer as a tutor and mentor to young girls, and I saw firsthand how much it impacted their lives, so in part I volunteer in homage to my mom.
What's your favorite aspect of volunteering?
In general, I enjoy working together with others and seeing a project come to fruition. As it pertains to Rise Up specifically, I enjoy seeing the students get excited about various aspects of their project and witnessing the sense of accomplishment they feel when they receive the journal with their work.
What would you say to someone who’s thinking of volunteering?
Just do it! You’ll learn something new about yourself and you’re going to have fun. It’s a great way to develop your science communication skills and help inspire young people to engage with scientific concepts.
Anything else you would like the reader to know about Rise Up or your experience as a volunteer?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering with Rise Up and have suggested to several junior scientists in my area that they sign up to volunteer. Working with the students can be frustrating at times but helping them work through their dispassion can help you develop the tools needed to motivate yourself as a scientist when you’re feeling uninspired.
Where we stand
At Rise Up, we believe every child deserves access to a strong, well-resourced education. But right now, public schools in our community are facing serious challenges. The new state budget commits nearly $2.5 billion to private school vouchers—the largest amount in Ohio’s history. This undermines our public school systems, which have long been under attack. For districts like Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), which serves nearly 39,000 students, this means staff reductions, cuts to after-school services, and fewer summer learning opportunities.
This shift is not just about numbers—it’s about real consequences in the classroom. When funding falls short, public schools are forced to cut programs, increase class sizes, and ask teachers to do more with less. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of voucher programs directs public dollars toward private schools, leaving public schools—which serve the vast majority of students—struggling to close the gap.
Public schools serve nearly 90% of Ohio’s students. When they are underfunded, every child feels the impact. While we work to help fill some of the gaps that exist in our community, lasting change must come at the state and national level to ensure equitable education for all. Together, we can make sure Cleveland’s students have the resources, teachers, and opportunities they deserve.
