Victoria Oladipupo
“It was just really fun, we learned so many things.”
Victoria Oladipupo is a senior at Sullivan high school that took part in Dr. Cavanaugh’s lab with her partner Almy Pojoy. After hearing about the ETHOS program from Sierra Webber and Bill Rochlin during her physics class, Olidapupo said she was interested in the program immediately. She attended the after-school workshops every Thursday in preparation for the summer program — especially enjoying a VR exercise.
Olidapupo’s lab focused on different kinds of flies and how their brains work. Out of all of the experiments they did during the 6-week program — including dissections and breeding — Olidapupo especially enjoyed loading the flies. This entailed taking them out of vials, putting them under anesthesia and sorting them by gender on a mat.
“The fruit flies’ brains are very tiny. They’re smaller than a poppy seed,” Olidapupo said. “We were able to see how the inside of their brains worked and saw the neurons and cells. It was pretty cool.”
Reflecting on her experience in the summer program, Olidapupo said she learned to keep trying no matter what. “There will be so many opportunities out there,” Olidapupo said. “It’s what Liz would always say… keep on swimming, keep on swimming, no matter what.”
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