It’s all about sun safety awareness for MIHS rising junior

Mercer Island residents who attended the city’s Summer Celebration event last month might have seen Mercer Island High School rising junior Kate deStwolinski sharing information about UV radiation, the ozone layer and more at her sun safety awareness booth.

A member of Girl Scouts since kindergarten, deStwolinski is working toward achieving her Gold Award through this project that has her focused on identifying a problem and solving it, according to her mother, Lori.

“Our family has a history of skin cancer and so sun safety awareness is a meaningful and relevant topic. It aligns well with Kate’s interest in science and our family values of service and community,” said Lori, adding that Kate has been inspired by Mercer Island School District science teachers.

Through her project, Kate, 16, is trying to teach people that they need to use sunscreen when summertime brings the sun and pushes the rain and gloom out of Seattle. Outside of Summer Celebration, the MI Girl Scout Troop 45306 member also made a sun safety awareness presentation at the Mercer Island Farmers Market and posts educational content on social media.

Looking into her future, Kate said she’d like to work as a cancer researcher.

“What I can do now is sort of preventative medicine. Instead of curing or helping these diseases right now, what I can do is to try to prevent them and keep people safe,” she said. “I just hope that everyone who I interact with can do a bit to keep themselves more healthy and enjoy their lives more.”

While working on her project, Kate has engaged in conversations with many dermatologists and other doctors who say that she’s providing an important service to others. She’s had copious positive interactions with people at her booth and is happy to see young parents with their children wearing hats and sunglasses.

“I’ve talked with a number of adults who said, ‘Wow, I really wish I had known this type of information and this advice when I was younger,’” Kate said.

For two weeks this summer, Kate participated in a paid introduction to biomedical science program at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Next summer, she can apply for an internship at that institute.

With two days remaining in the program, Kate told the Reporter during the first week of August: “We’re learning basic techniques that scientists will use in the laboratory. We’ve heard from tons of guest speakers, like lab scientists and also people who work with health services around the Hutch. We’ve done tours of different labs within the Fred Hutch.”

Away from the science realm, Kate plays oboe in the school concert bands and is a saxophonist in the school marching band, which will perform in the 2026 New Year’s Day London Parade. When asked about her favorite musicians, Kate listed Weezer and Mitski as her go-to artists.

GOING FOR GOLD

Other Mercer Island Girl Scouts from Troop 45306 who are working on their Gold Awards are Katie Mertel (emergency preparedness awareness), Kiera Weller (Navigating 2 Households club) and Samantha Janusson (entrepreneurial opportunities at farmers markets for kids).

Mertel’s project focuses on “elevating awareness of existing emergency preparedness resources, so citizens can take the proactive steps to ensure a swift and effective disaster response and recovery.”

Weller spends her time with Navigating 2 Households, which is “dedicated to children whose parents are divorced or are divorcing, with emphasis on youth that are still in middle school.”

Through her project, Janusson is “providing a business guide, exposure, and advice to kids, as well as increasing awareness for the program.”