I moved to Exeter NH about a year and a half ago from the Northwest, with a brief stop in Missouri. I attend Exeter AREA High School where I will be a junior in the fall. My time directly after school is devoted to my soccer, basketball, and softball teams. I am the treasurer of our branch of the National Spanish Honor Society. I also baby-sit at a local church every Sunday and assist in coaching an under twelve traveling soccer team. I enjoy cooking, hanging out with my friends, and listening to music in my free time.

Science and mathematics have always been my strong points. Learning about the past and rules made up long before my time about when and when not to dot your i's have always seemed to be a waste of time to me. This is because I can't make a difference in the past. But the dynamic aspect of science really fascinates me. And math being the language science is communicated and understood through, also interests me.

Thinking about a problem for a long time and coming to a solution is instantly gratifying. But science and math classes still leave you with that feeling of, "I got the answer, but what does it mean? How does this fit into a greater picture?"

I'll have to admit, the idea of spending an entire month of my summer vacation in school didn't appeal to me at first. But I realized that this was an opportune chance to see where all my classes were leading me to; eventually.

This program has helped me in many aspects. I now appreciate the work that is done by scientists. I have learned first hand the correctness of Lou's saying "Research costs more than it does and takes more time than it does." The course on statistics was very informative and enlightening. I especially enjoyed the physics classes, although I have yet to take physics, their overview has made me anticipate it greatly. Their portrayals of space really put our existence into perspective. Also, I learned a lot about computers, frustrating as they are, and their capabilities. In addition, working with actual scientists was a nice opportunity. They erased all the stereotypes and misconceptions I had.

Finally, the atmosphere created here was nice. The people were very friendly and the activities were fun. The environment ensured that the group of students that arrived left as a group of friends.