The Youth Are Our Future: Mentor Mariefel Olarte Invests in Interns

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) chemical engineer Mariefel Olarte grew up in the Philippines as the eldest of six kids. Her interest in science was inspired by her parents and her grandmother, who was a sixth-grade science teacher. Today, she mentors PNNL interns and empowers them to grow their skills and advance their careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

“Spending summers with my grandma, I would find her books and read them,” said Olarte. “I came across a book that talked about diagnosis, and that got me interested in the research process because diagnosing an ailment is finding a solution to a problem through asking questions. I found it exciting.”

Olarte joined PNNL in 2011. Her research focuses on using catalytic hydrotreating—a process that involves removing atoms such as oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfurs from biomass (like sewage and waste sludges) and agriculture residues—to produce hydrocarbon for transportation. Biofuels could be used for gasoline, diesel, jet, or marine fuel applications.

In addition, Olarte is exploring the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in chemical processing.

“Education was always a high priority for my parents because it was seen as a tool to improve our lives,” said Olarte. “But aside from education, we have a saying in the Philippines that says, ‘Youth is the hope of the motherland,’ and it has driven me towards thinking about the future and how to give back through mentorship.”

Olarte began mentoring early in her career. Informally, she mentored students as a university professor before joining PNNL. In recent years, she has mentored almost a dozen students partaking in Department of Energy, Office of Science, Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists internship programs. 

Students partaking in the Community College Internship (CCI) and Student Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) programs assist Olarte in her biofuels and chemicals research, gaining hands-on STEM career experience and learning about opportunities at the Department of Energy’s national laboratories.

“I’m currently working with Brandon Bushnell, who was a CCI intern, on writing a review focused on removing polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, contaminants from water,” said Olarte. “We are trying to catalog the current pathways to destroying these contaminants because they tend to accumulate in the environment and in our bodies, and they've been shown to have adverse health effects.”

Olarte recalled a memorable moment as a mentor working with Bushnell.

“When I think of why I do this, I think of earlier this year when everything clicked for Brandon in preparation for his presentation,” said Olarte. “He mentioned that he enjoyed what he is doing, understood it, and was proud of what he was able to accomplish. If a student is enjoying their research and they are finding its importance, that resonates with me and validates that I am doing the right thing.”

For Olarte, teaching is one aspect of mentoring—another is learning. 

“I’ve learned from my students also. I had one student who did some preliminary research on how to write code,” said Olarte. “At the end of her internship, she was able to write a code that really helped the project and became the basis for the next student to work on. I am always learning because I can’t teach what I don’t know.”

Olarte’s mentees have gone on to pursue various projects, including extending their internships to continue research while completing their education, getting their college degrees and enrolling in graduate studies, and securing jobs as researchers at national laboratories.

“I have been amazed at my interns’ willingness to learn, explore, and provide meaningful and important contributions to our projects,” said Olarte. “The future belongs to the next generation, and if we don't contribute to inspiring the next generation, then we might end up lagging in filling STEM careers that are needed in solving issues important to society, to our nation and the world.”

Olarte is passionate about giving back to her community and students who lack equal access to opportunities.

Beyond mentoring interns at PNNL, Olarte volunteers for several organizations and institutions, including a local STEM-focused high school, a local high school with a high population of underserved and underrepresented students, Junior Achievement of Washington, and the Mid-Columbia Science Fair.

“I’ve learned from the experiences of students and have a growing understanding of the inequality to access,” said Olarte. “My hope is to help students learn, help them better understand some of the issues that we try to address at PNNL, and provide access to some of the resources that we do have. I am encouraged and inspired by the curiosity and courage of our students—our future.”

January is National Mentoring Month. At PNNL, there are mentoring programs for everyone. PNNL offers Mentoring@PNNL—a lab-wide mentoring program that facilitates formal mentor/mentee relationships among PNNL employees.

PNNL also has over 1,600 STEM mentors dedicated to cultivating and uplifting the next generation of STEM professionals. To learn more about STEM education and workforce development at PNNL, visit PNNL Stem Education.