Madisen Shurney
“I definitely enjoyed having the experience of being in the lab…”
Senn high school senior Madisen Shurney completed the ETHOS program in August 2025. Focusing on organic chemistry and natural neurotransmitters, Shurney worked alongside partner Melissa Villagomez in Dr. Esipova’s lab for six weeks of the summer.
After initially hearing about the program, Shurney hoped to get into the program and was excited to take the opportunity to learn about new things. Her lab experience consisted of learning basic safety rules of the lab, working with different chemical compounds, exploring the field of neuroscience and more.
According to Shurney, one of the biggest challenges she faced during the ETHOS experience was being exposed to and trying to understand the concepts of organic chemistry for the first time. Shurney also said one of the best parts of the program was the abundance of connections that she made – especially the building of relationships with her lab partner Villagomez and her mentor Esipova.
Shurney described her experience with ETHOS as a “stepping stool,” referring to a surprising takeaway from her time in the lab; she does not want to pursue science in college. “I now know for a fact that I don’t want to have to do anything towards science,” Shurney said. “But I definitely enjoyed having the experience of being in the lab and learning about organic chemistry, biochemistry and chemistry all together.”
With a narrowed down potential career list, thanks to her time in the ETHOS program, Shurney’s decision-making process for selecting a major has become that much easier. She plans to pursue higher education following her senior year at Senn.
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