The first cohort of students from Princeton and Manchester High Schools came to the University of Cincinnati in May of 2018 for a training and Kick-Off event. For two days 50 students were introduced to the process of community-based participatory research (CBPR) through lectures and interactive workshops. The College of Arts and Sciences covered the event, in this article, Growing Community Change Researchers in STEM: Urban and Rural High School Students Unite During Opioid Epidemic Community Research Project.