NYSC

My 2007 National Youth Science Camp experience is forever at the top of my most cherished life activities. Not only did I befriend peers with similar interests from around the globe and feel inspired by scientists leading their fields, but also every single day of camp was an adventure, from caving, to fractal art design, to ensuring stream bed quality, to coding artificial intelligence, to learning about bird watching with a new Vietnamese friend. Did I mention, deep in one of those caves I met a guy jamming on a guitar, trying to change the world? I think Peter Mulvey's succeeded.

Within various scientific fields I learned about ecosystems and the water table, and about the mathematics of a mobius strip, and of alternative energy solutions and even of chaos theory. More important than this raw scientific knowledge though was the confidence I gained to learn more, and a great interest to do so independently. I've always excelled in science courses, but this experience stoked a strong passion that is still burning. With infinite appreciation I gained the courage and determination to become a world class engineer. Having just received my BS in Computer Science I'm now working with the Human Genome Project. A couple of this endeavor's aims are to build a public data source of gene sequences for thousands of species as well as freely provide the software for others to do so, and to explore targeted cures for cancer. This could be a stepping stone to even larger challenges that I now know not to back down from.

As a globally minded player I'm now fully aware of the great talent found in all our world's nations. I was impressed and grateful to grow familiar with my peers from Panama, India, Trinidad, Germany, Argentina, Canada, Bolivia, and other countries. Cooperatively and competitively we solved puzzles, played games, climbed mountains, and learned lessons from renowned NYSC alumni. I practiced my German and Spanish, learned to juggle, found my favorite games of Set and Go, talked about exploring space and lighting ice cubes on fire, and generally connected with my international friends. This experience has assured me the world is abundant with brilliant benevolent minds; I feel good contributing to such a world.

I'm sure the NYSC played its part to fuel my current personal goal, to brighten others' lives using my love of science. In college I helped found a club to recycle old computers back into the hands of international students who need them. I was also always up for freely tutoring and encouraging anyone ready to learn, spending many late hours in my college's science center. Out of any camp or character building activity I've attended, the NYSC is my prized memory. My tears will attest to the value of those few weeks of camp between high school and college; they are worth a life time to me.