New York, NY – RTW Foundation recently completed the second year of its BioQuest STEM mentoring program alongside its partners and co-creators, Areté Education, Hunts Point Alliance for Children, Futures Ignite, and Mott Hall II. The academic year-long program engaged over 200 students from communities in the South Bronx and Washington Heights exploring careers in science, biotechnology, and medicine.
The program will return in the 2025-2026 academic year with monthly opportunities and expanded programming. This past year, with collaborators like BioBus and Weill Cornell Medicine, BioQuest connected students with mentors, hands-on lab activities, career exposure, enrichment field trips, and paid STEM summer immersive experiences. The program consisted of eight specialized events from September through April with a broad range of science experiments and guidance from RTW mentors working in STEM fields:
BioQuest Kickoff Breakfast & Back to School Fair at Hunts Point
Students and families connected with mentors, enjoyed breakfast, and explored hands-on science experiments aboard the BioBus in the Bronx!
RTW Career Day
RTW Investments welcomed BioQuest students to its offices to explore biotech investing and career opportunities in drug discovery. Students heard from our CEO, Rod Wong, and our team of researchers and analysts, gaining insights into biotech and life sciences. The day included hands-on activities like investing trivia, a chemistry simulation, and a guided tour of the investment firm offices.
Microscopic Hudson River Park
BioQuest teamed up with HPAC, Futures Ignite, and Arete Education for a day of hands-on scientific discovery at Hudson River Park. Students explored the park’s interactive microorganism room, learned the history and ecology of the Hudson River with environmental specialists, and used microscopes to uncover some of the estuary’s tiniest organisms.
JLABS and Winter Celebration
BioQuest gathered at Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JLABS and the New York Genome Center for an exciting end of year winter celebration and laboratory visit. Alongside mentors, students engaged in hands on activities including extracting DNA from strawberries, competing in a precision pipetting challenge, making fake snow with baking soda and shaving cream, and designing, engineering and building innovative gingerbread houses that showcased their creativity and problem-solving skills.
BioBus Experiments
Students and mentors explored multicellular organisms with the BioBus team using microscopes and other features of their mobile lab. Through hands-on experiments participants discovered how organisms react to changes in their environment.
Special Offering: BioBus Explore Program
BioQuest held its first Explore Program for middle school students during February break. Students explored the similarities and differences between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems with the BioBus team.
Innovation Day at Weill Cornell Medicine
Students explored immunology and public health challenges alongside the Tri-Institution Minority Society graduate students at Weill Cornell. Through collaboration and problem-solving, they developed innovative solutions to health disparities, presenting ideas such as apps, wearable devices, and artificial intelligence-driven tools.
Family Science Day and BioQuest Graduation
Students, family members, and mentors spent the day exploring the Liberty Science Center, engaging with hands-on exhibits and celebrating a year of learning and growth. This was followed by a special BioQuest graduation lunch, where students were recognized for their curiosity, hard work, and achievements throughout the program.
This summer, we piloted the BioQuest Ambassadors Program for highly engaged high school students, offering monthly skill-building workshops and paid internships to explore STEM careers. The program empowers students to take the next step in their STEM journeys, develop professional skills, and connect with industry leaders who can support their growth. We are grateful to have connected students with internships at SHAPE Columbia and Summer at Brown.
“For me, BioQuest is important because I’ve always been interested in finance and medicine and being a doctor, and I never really knew that there is a career that I can necessarily combine the two things. Once I went in my first day of BioQuest, I absolutely fell in love!” said eleventh grader Jordan Hillario. “I learned that you don’t have to stay in one place in life. Your career is like a journey,” said eleventh grader Jamil Batiz.
“I'm grateful to watch our BioQuest students grow not just in their STEM skills, but in their confidence, curiosity, and sense of what’s possible. Seeing them explore new career paths and build relationships with mentors has been inspiring,” said Marti Speranza Wong, Co-Chair at RTW Foundation. “We’re excited to keep deepening our support through our BioQuest Ambassadors Program, and to continue walking alongside students as they build their futures.”
“It was really great to see us be able to inspire a bit of interest in science,” said a BioQuest mentor. “I enjoyed that aspect and seeing the children’s faces light up as they had some cool discoveries or experiences.”
We were pleased to welcome Steve Raymundo to the team as our new BioQuest Program Associate in April. Steve has already spearheaded an exciting lineup of opportunities for the next academic year, designed to spark curiosity, build skills, and expand STEM opportunities. From hands-on lab experiments and museum exploration to Ambassador experiences and college tours that give students a glimpse into their futures, there’s something for every student to discover. To learn more about BioQuest and partnership opportunities, please contact Steve at [email protected].
