SAN LUIS OBISPO - Students at Allan Hancock College have embarked on a voyage of scientific discovery.
They are spending their summer at Cal Poly working on DNA analysis and genetic research alongside professors.
The program is called Bridges to the Baccalaureate and as the name implies, it is helping connect community college students with universities.
It is all thanks to a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.
"I really want to be a doctor," said Anthony Gallegos, a student at Hancock College.
Students like Anthony Gallegos are getting hands on experience that will help them achieve their goals.
"I'm thinking about neurosurgeon, so being able to come here and study lizard brains is definitely a step in the right direction," said Gallegos.
Gallegos goes to Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, but he's spending his summer at Cal Poly doing research with a biology professor.
Thirteen other community college students are doing the same.
"To really get into a lab and really look at the plants, work with their DNA and try to see how it all fits together, it's a neat thing," said Ed Himelblau, Cal Poly Assistant Professor.
Bridges to the Baccalaureate is an internship program for under-represented students.
The goal is to encourage them to go on to successful careers in science-related fields.
It is experience you can't put a price on -- and there is an added bonus.
The students are paid $10 an hour for their hard work.
"It's also providing a bridge to community college students to transfer to a university, so I think it's a great program," said Juan Garcia, a Hancock College student.
If the students are successful in their research they can apply for funding to attend conference with their professors and make presentations on their findings.
