Summer Sojourns

COSMOS:

My COSMOS experience made this past summer a perfect balance of academics and fun. COSMOS is a residential summer program that allows students to learn more about math and science held at many college campuses. The COSMOS admissions process consisted of a simple and clear application available in the spring semester. I got into the molecular biology class where I learned so much more about genetics and biotechnology. There were many other classes available ranging from astronomy to oceanography. The class includes lots of lab work and opportunities to hear many interesting lectures. It was also great to meet high school students from all over California who had the same interests as me. I made many friends through this camp and I had an opportunity to get to know them better through fun activities such as beach day and karaoke night. I truly enjoyed this month-long summer camp because it furthered my love for science. I would recommend this program to any student with a passion in math and science.

PresRep:

This summer, I returned to the 80s to participate in Footloose, the mainstage musical of PresRep, Presentation’s summer theater program for teens. Students from age 12 to 17 applied to this camp through the Presentation website, or by contacting Mr. Houle, the musical’s director.

The show, based on the hit 1984 film, is set to a rockin’ 80s soundtrack, including songs such as “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” “Holding Out for a Hero,” and, of course, the famous title song. Over a span of five weeks, about 40 actors and actresses sang and danced their hearts out, learning the basics of performing arts along the way.

Performers are also exposed to the technical aspects of theater, including set construction and costuming. The musical was unbelievably fun, and I was astonished by how many amazing friends I met. PresRep was a wonderful way to spend my spend my summer, and was certainly an unforgettable experience.

Sierra Service Project:

Sierra Service Project, also known as SSP, is a non-profit organization that organizes a life-fulfilling week at a Native American reservation for church youth groups to attend. This year, my youth group and I traveled the distance of 260 miles to Greenville, CA to help the Maidu Indians.

My work group, which consisted of six people from various churches, was assigned to work with a woman named Monica. Our task for the week was to rebuild the railing on her porch so that her young children would not injure themselves.

Among our tasks were digging holes, pouring concrete, staining and sanding boards, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches daily for lunch, taking freezing showers and using Port-A-Potties. These things, however disgusting some were, multiplied the effects of my phenomenal experience at SSP this year. Many would believe that our hard work and suffering held no impact or meaning. However, there was one thing that led us to believe that this was for good, and that was the overwhelming gratitude on Monica’s face.

Much to our regret, we were unable to finish what we started, for it took a lot longer than originally planned, but everyone in my group felt accomplished in what we had done and we believed that we had completed it to the best of our ability.

For more information, go to www.sierraserviceproject.org.

Summer Institute of Medical Research:

This summer, I was accepted into the Summer Institutes of Medical Research (SIMR) program at Stanford University. This program is designed to introduce high school juniors and seniors to what scientific and medical research is like by matching them up with a lab in one of five institutes. I was in the neuroscience program, and I was matched up with a brain imaging lab.

For eight weeks, we students went to institute-specific lectures and worked in our laboratories. The goal of the program was to do a research experiment that we would present at the end of the program at a public poster session. My research experiment involved measuring out brain regional volumes on MRI scans and comparing them to the subjects’ scores on an associative memory task. I ran correlations between the two to see if there were any connections, and I presented my findings to peers and the public at the poster session.

This experience was great because it gave me the chance to see what a career in the medical and research fields would be like. Additionally, it was great to meet students who were also interested in science. SIMR was a truly amazing experience, and I can’t wait to attend again next year.

For interested students, the 2011 SIMR application will be available online in the fall at http://simr.stanford.edu/2010/index.html.

Youth For Understanding:

I couldn’t use chopsticks and my Japanese was limited to small pleasantries and counting. Yet I, along with many other teens throughout the nation, chose to participate in a six-week exchange program in Japan this summer. We were all part of a program called Youth for Understanding (YFU) which sends teenagers all around the world for cultural immersion. I stayed with a host family in rural Japan and attended high school there as well. I had to learn how to communicate with a culture and in a language so different from my own (a bit of a challenge for an English lover)! I was in the middle of nowhere for the majority of my stay—the rice paddies far outnumbered the people—but I had a fantastic time making sushi with my host grandmother, brushing cows in the school barn and going to a fireworks show–and all were experiences I could not have had anywhere else. The trip can be expensive, but there are a number of full scholarships available—I went on a scholarship sponsored by Mazda. I would thoroughly recommend YFU for anyone looking to experience a slice of a different part of the world.

For more information on exchange programs, go to yfu.org.

Summer Trips 2009: Ecuador and the Galapagos

Imagine paradise. Now try to picture it 1,000 times better, and you might just get your first glance into the astounding beauty of Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

This past June, I traveled to South America along with 11 other Presentation girls for the trip of a lifetime. From hiking on the foggy edges of high, muddy cliffs to diving into the crystal clear Pacific Ocean amongst curious sea lions, it is safe to say that our small group did it all. During my brief two weeks in Ecuador, I learned more about nature and conservation than I ever expected to know and I had the opportunity to fully immerse myself into a culture that was completely new to me.

When we first arrived in Ecuador after the grueling 11-hour flight, I was filled with anticipation, excited about what was to come, but nervous about spending two weeks in a foreign country where I could barely communicate with the natives. The events of the next two weeks, though, completely changed my mind from fear to extreme excitement. With the help of the Presentation teacher-chaperones Mr. Pistacchi and Ms. Odell, I was able to learn about the special environment of the South American climate zones through actually interacting with the environment.

In order to learn more about our surroundings, our school was allowed to participate in reforestation and conservation efforts both in mainland Ecuador and on the Islands. To do this, we stayed in biological stations, and while the stations were far from five star hotels, they were nonetheless charming and interesting places to stay. Our conservation efforts in Ecuador concentrated mainly on reforesting, and I saw first-hand the clear distinction between a completely natural forest and one that had been tampered with. It was heartbreaking to see the condition of several beautiful, remote locations of South America without the normal abundance of endemic plant and animal species. Without the help of volunteers such as those living in the biological stations of La Hisperia in Ecuador and Jatun Sacha in the Galapagos, the South American ecosystems would be severely damaged.

But of course, not all of our time spent in Ecuador was about conservation, allowing our group to experience the culture of local Ecuadorians. It was interesting to see the differences between American culture and Ecuadorian culture, especially on the islands. On the island of San Cristóbal, most “cities” are simply groups of fishermen and vendors. The majority of the people that our group interacted with were the volunteers and our nature guides who took us through the various vegetation zones of the Galápagos. The unique experience of hiking through a jungle on a fiercely hot day only to have it start pouring buckets of rain is an experience that I am not soon going to forget.

When the brief two weeks were over, none of us could believe it. We had reached the end of our journey, never to have quite the same opportunities. But while I may never have the same experiences again, I now have lasting memories that will never fade away.

Finding Inspiration in Africa

This summer, 12 Pres girls went to Zambia, a small, peaceful country in South-Central Africa. The first week of the service trip was spent in Livingstone with a group of six Presentation Sisters. The second, we stayed in Pemba with two sisters. While working at the schools and orphanages, I was able to learn from numerous colorful people, old and young.

 

In Livingstone, I met the most remarkable people the day I worked with caretakers at the Saint Francis Care Center. I went to a house in the community where they hold a clinic once a month for people the in neighborhood that are sick with diseases like AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and malaria. After I did warm-up exercises with the patients, we went to see the four patients that were bedridden. First, I saw a woman who was young and had many children running around her house. Her eyes were extremely sad and she did not speak. Just standing in her presence, I could feel death. It was the first time during trip that just seeing someone made me cry; I was so overwhelmed with compassion that I didn’t know how to deal with it. After I left her house, I met Martin, a 38-year-old man with a warm smile. When I first met him, I was not sure how sick he was because he looked relatively athletic and I could tell he was extremely tall despite the fact he was sitting down. He told me that he had four kids and was taking care of them while his wife was gone. Martin was extremely friendly and quick to make conversation. While we were talking, the caregiver told me that he could not walk because he had some sores on his legs; she asked him to show them to me and he did. Martin lifted the blanket that was covering his legs and exposed the sores on his legs.  All of a sudden, the wind was knocked out of me; I was so shocked to see such big, open wounds on a living person. Neither words nor pictures can describe the enormous, grotesque sores. I was so impressed with Martin’s uplifting and optimistic attitude despite his unbelievable circumstance.  He has made a lasting impression on my outlook on life. It was so inspiring to see someone whose positive attitude enabled him to see past his illness. The stark comparison between the sick woman and the sick man is only seen when looking at their attitudes. Because of Martin’s hopeful outlook on life, he seemed much more able to live his life to the fullest. From this I saw that attitude determines everything and a positive attitude can help bring you through the hardest times.

 

After the time we spent in Livingstone, the group traveled to a small, rural town called Pemba. In Pemba, we stayed with two extraordinarily inspiring Sisters: Mary Lucey and Bernadette, both retired Irish schoolteachers. They moved to Pemba 14 years ago to bring more world knowledge to the small village; the sisters were the first white people most of the town had ever seen. My favorite memory from Pemba was a talk we had with Sister Mary Lucey one night by the fire. We were all sitting around after dinner and she told us of some of her encounters while being in Africa. The stories were very interesting but the best part was at the end, when she told us, “You know, you do what you can.” After she explained her heroic efforts and the tremendous amount of work she has done in Pemba, she simply said that she tries her hardest to do what she can and in the end of the day, that pays off the most. This quote has stayed with me since the trip because it is such a good way to view our abilities here on Earth. Her insight on life has given me new hope in the endeavors I take. It doesn’t matter how much you do but the intensity and how much of yourself you give to it.

 

The sisters serve as inspiration to all Pres girls because of how much of their lives they have given to the people of Pemba. There are sisters just like Mary Lucey and Bernadette all over the world; the Presentation community is truly international!