{"id":3812,"date":"2026-07-18T07:03:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3812"},"modified":"2026-07-18T07:03:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T07:03:36","slug":"keys-research-program-celebrates-20-years-at-university-of-arizona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3812","title":{"rendered":"KEYS Research Program celebrates 20 years at University of Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<section>\n<p>TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) &#8211; The University of Arizona\u2019s KEYS Research Program marked its 20th anniversary Friday, placing dozens of high school students alongside university mentors for a free, seven-week science research experience.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3810\">Drivers bypass closure after monsoon buckles Broadway near Freeman Wash on Tucson\u2019s east side<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Around 500 students from across the state applied to the program this year. Only 58 were accepted.<\/p>\n<h2>Students take on college-level research<\/h2>\n<p>Fatima Al Zubaidi, a rising senior at University High School, was among those selected. She spent the summer studying a common type of bone cancer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to be better than someone, or you just want to set yourself apart from other kids \u2014 what can make me unique, especially in the competitive environment we have these days, especially because we\u2019re going to apply to college very soon,\u201d Al Zubaidi said.<\/p>\n<p>She said the program also taught her lessons beyond the lab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cResearch is not perfect, no one is perfect, so you just have to learn to embrace those mistakes and move on,\u201d Al Zubaidi said.<\/p>\n<h2>Mentors include program alumni<\/h2>\n<p>Students work with mentors throughout the program. Al Zubaidi\u2019s mentor, Mozani Zianti, completed the KEYS program himself as a high school student.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a point where a student may decide whether to pursue research or not, and so it\u2019s very important that they\u2019re introduced to that in a good way,\u201d Zianti said.<\/p>\n<p>KEYS \u2014 which stands for Keep Engaging Youth in Science \u2014 is free to participants. This year, for the first time since the pandemic, the University of Arizona secured funding that allowed students traveling from further away to stay in campus dormitories.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3808\">Marana community honors Kyrsten Sovereign with balloon release<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dr. Lisa Elfring, the program\u2019s faculty of record, said the goal is to shift how students see themselves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s more important than ever for students to be able to see themselves as scientists and really experience that process of learning to ask questions in the scientific way,\u201d Dr. Elfring said.<\/p>\n<p>Zianti reflected on the program\u2019s impact over two decades.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI only pray that I am in more positions to give back to the program that was the start of my \u2014 my life,\u201d Zianti said.<\/p>\n<p>Applications for next year\u2019s KEYS Research cohort are due in December.<\/p>\n<p><i><u><b>Isabela Lisco<\/b><\/u><\/i><i> is a <\/i><i><u><b>Report for America<\/b><\/u><\/i><i> corpsmember covering education solutions for 13 News. Her position is made possible through funding from Report for America and the <\/i><i><u><b>Arizona Local News Foundation\u2019s<\/b><\/u><\/i><i> Arizona Community Collaborative Fund.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n<p>Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n<p>If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=3806\">Pima County investigating Measles case<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The University of Arizona\u2019s KEYS Research Program marked its 20th anniversary Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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