Five freshmen joined the URI ESTEEMED program this fall, beginning their training with a week-long ESTEEMED Academy held August 31 through September 4 on-campus at URI.
The 2026 cohort brings together students from five colleges: Abraham Baldomar (Kinesiology, CHS), Emma Garcia (Biological Sciences, CELS), Josmeily Minier Estevez (Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, COP), Lesly Morales (Electrical Engineering, COE), and Ronan Rivera (Chemistry A&S). URI ESTEEMED, funded by the National Institutes of Health, prepares undergraduates for research careers in bioengineering and the biomedical sciences through mentored research, professional development, and a peer community that carries through their time at URI. This is the final cohort under the program’s current NIH award, which runs through May 2027; the group will complete a condensed one-year version of the ESTEEMED curriculum.
Academy Week gave the new trainees a working introduction to both the program and the university. Students set up their digital research workspaces, toured STEM facilities, and spent a full day in the laboratory synthesizing and characterizing gold nanoparticles. Sessions on finding a research mentor and identifying the right lab fit ran alongside faculty presentations from potential mentors across campus. The week closed with practical ground: organizational skills, time management, resumes, and LinkedIn.
One of the week’s high points came from the students themselves. Current ESTEEMED sophomores and program alumni joined a panel, answering questions about coursework, joining a lab, and the parts of the first year nobody warns you about.
“This is one of the most dynamic and engaged groups of students we have had come through the Academy. They asked good questions all week, and they were not shy about it. Their timeline is shorter than that of previous cohorts; I have no doubt they will be successful anyway,” said Dr. Samantha Meenach, who directs ESTEEMED.
The new trainees now begin weekly seminar, study sessions, research lab shadowing, and one-on-one meetings with assigned peer mentors as they work toward placement in a research lab this academic year.