The Upper School sat captivated as seven students shared their research experiences at the annual summer science presentations on Thursday, September 25, highlighting the projects they pursued over the break from school.
More than just the scientific topics that were shared, the presentations served as a great way for students to practice public speaking and for the broader community to see how pursuing curiosity outside the classroom can shape confidence, clarify passions, and point toward possible futures.
Junior Adian McCorkle, who took an online course at Rice University on genome engineering, felt that the experience was a great way for him to dive deeper into the concept. “When I was a kid, I thought that you could tweak a few genes and become a superhero. However, after this course, I realized that you can become a superhero from being the person who can figure out how to tweak those genes. The impacts of Genome Engineering are limitless and I was so glad that I was able to dive deeper and learn about editing genes to our advantage,” McCorkle expressed.
Similarly to McCorkle, freshman Cameron Lencheski gained much more than academic knowledge from her experience at the West Point STEM camp. “I come from a military family, so I have always had an urge to serve my country, whether directly or indirectly. The West Point STEM Camp allowed me to experience the Army way of life while also working in engineering, which I plan to study in college. I loved having the opportunity to see a college campus while pursuing what I am interested in because it showed me a glimpse of what my future could be like,” Lenchenski said.
Like Lencheski, sophomore Sofia Lapter also participated in a pre-college program. Specifically, Lapter attended Georgia Tech’s iDtech program, where she had the opportunity to dive deeper into the complexities of artificial intelligence. “This course helped me realize that I’m really interested in neuroscience. I’m so happy that I had this early exposure because I feel like I have a head start in understanding the field and what it might be like to study it more seriously in the future,” Lapter said.
Securing these opportunities is no easy feat. While the selectivity varies, each student that presented had to submit some form of an application in which they explained why they wanted to participate in the program.
For junior Evan Wang, that process led him to a seven-week internship at UF Scripps Biomedical Research in the laboratory of Professor Gavin Rumbaugh’s lab, a leading neuroscientist whose work focuses on developmental brain disorders such as autism and intellectual disability with a special emphasis on the gene SYNGAP1.
Wang noted that the mentorship aspect of the internship was the most beneficial to his growth.
“Being mentored by a professional in the field that I am interested in was such an eye-opening experience. But more than just the professor, I also learned so much from the students I worked with. I learned about what they were doing outside of school and how they were taking their interest in science outside of the classroom. Not only did it give me new ideas to get involved with, but it also taught me valuable insight that I will surely be using when applying to college next year. I realized that it’s not about pursuing a bunch of different activities, but rather to focus your resume into an area that you are interested in. With a junior year ahead of me, I am excited to find new opportunities and continue to explore my passion for science,” Wang shared.
These presentations certainly have a scientific focus. However, Director of College Counseling, Mrs. Anna Wright notes that there are these types of opportunities for every discipline.
“Admissions officers like to see students that can take classroom learning and apply it to the real world. So, if you are interested in geology, take an extra geology course, if you are interested in architecture, try and find a program that could deepen your understanding. It doesn’t matter what the focus is, but rather that students show that true passion. As far as the programs go, we don’t know whether a particular college will view a pre-college experience as “impressive” but we do know that they will appreciate the students’ drive to learn and intellectual curiosity’’ Wright explained.
Overall, it’s clear that each student walked away with more than an extra bullet point to their resume or a particular skill. They gained perspective, learning what excites them, what challenges them, and in some cases what directions they may or may not want to pursue in the future.
