Honored in science, he cares about community

Gustavo Rosa moved to Somerville from Brazil six years ago with his parents. He had nearly failed English in his elementary school and had never read American literature, but he'd already experienced the first flutter of excitement about science.

Rosa, 19, graduates from Somerville High School tomorrow ranked 17th out of the 355 students in his class.

His accomplishments abound. Rosa just won a scholarship and internship from Biogen Idec , the biotechnology company in Cambridge, that he can apply to his freshman year at Williams College . He's been an AP Scholar and a National Hispanic Scholar . He's won gold and silver medals for the National Latin Exam and was copresident of the student council. The city of Somerville has lauded his efforts in the community.

And it's that work he speaks about most enthusiastically. For three years he's been involved in the Cops'n'Kids program, in which 12- and 13-year-olds from the city learn about the dangers of violence and drugs from police officers. And they get to shoot a little hoop.

``A lot of kids have a weird vision of cops," said Rosa, who is a peer leader. ``This gives them a chance to see cops differently.

``One kid who lived in the projects really didn't want to be there at the program. He hated us at the start and cussed out another peer leader. By the end, he yelled out the window of the bus, `Hey, Gustavo, I love you, man.' That's the draw for me."

If peacekeeping warms his heart, it's science that stokes Rosa's curiosity. He has won either first, second, or third place for the last three years at the Massachusetts State Science Fair with his research on lycopene and cancer.

Back in Brazil, he'd taken a philosophy course that explained the scientific method. ``That you could test things to find out how they worked or why something happens," he said, ``that was a big thing for me."

At Somerville High he had a chance to put it into practice, testing whether lycopene could help cure lung cancer after hearing on the Discovery Channel that it could help prostate cancer.

``The first year all our proofs led us to conclude lycopene was killing the cancer cells," Rosa said. ``We were ecstatic.

``But later we improved our protocols and found out the cells weren't dying, just changing, floating up, so our method for counting them was faulty," Rosa said. ``That was a big wow moment for me. In science you can make a wondrous discovery or get a punch in the stomach, but both are good feelings because you're uncovering the truth."

Before his love of science blossomed, Rosa was a passionate reader, and he remains one.

``In Brazil, I was in danger of failing my English class," he said. ``With two months left in school, I challenged my teacher to not fail me if I could read 40 books before the end of the year. She thought it was impossible. I read 55 and wrote a page about each of them."

He's recently been on a binge, reading everything by Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald . He said it has connected him to American culture in new way.

And Rosa believes in the power of multicultural connections. Last year he took part in the Empower Peace Conference , where students from the United States spoke during a video conference with students from around the world. Rosa spoke with students from Islamabad , Pakistan. ``These conferences can make a difference," he said. ``People think American teens are morons who thrive on fast food and don't care about the world. This gave us a chance to show other teens that American teens are actually very thoughtful."

Though he speaks Portuguese at home and recalls his childhood in Brazil fondly, Rosa is happy to be living out the American dream. ``My parents just bought their first house here," he said. ``It's a great feeling. I have it easy, but my parents work really hard. But it's better to work hard for something that belongs to you."

Like the future.