The Science Research Journey through the Eyes of a Junior
Hello! My name is Emma Van Praagh, and I am a junior at PMHS in the science research program. With the upcoming end-of-year symposium, I have been reflecting on the past three years of my research experience. I’d like to share some lessons I have learned here:
Collaboration
Collaboration has been ever-present since I started in science research. Our teachers and classmates form the most immediate community each day in the classroom. In freshman year, I remember working in teams to complete class challenges. My classmates and I worked in groups to test an engineering project, merging our ideas to create a unique model or design. For instance, we were challenged to test how a variable of our choice affected the reaction between diet coke and mentos rocket. Within a few days, each group went through each step of the research process. My project went from an idea on paper of adding dish soap to soda and candy to a set of analyzed results from a functional model. We took the lessons learned from these smaller projects like this one to create one of our own: a “Shark Tank” project. Similar to the primetime T.V. show, students pitch an idea to solve an existing problem as backed up by previous research. With the help of conversations with Mr. Beltecas and my classmates, I proposed a design of a mask for athletes that would be more protective and functional than the current options available on the market. Fellow classmates proposed solutions across disciplines, which opened my eyes to the innovation that was happening in our classroom. At the end of the year, I felt accomplished in both the work we produced and also for the skills I had while working together with the gained in the classroom and would continue through the next year.
Inquiry
As our class moved up to sophomore year, there was anticipation surrounding the next steps. How would our class change? Most prominently, we had Mr. DiBello as our teacher, who was instrumental in guiding us through the next phase of our research class. We jumped into conducting research in our field of interest, building upon our skills of reading journal articles by identifying a gap in research. Though this process was challenging at first, my classmates and I accomplished this goal and moved forward by writing a review of literature. Pursuing this research and conducting a write-up was empowering. These assignments were the culmination of the skills we learned and the work we completed so far in the program. We were given the opportunity to study our passions with teachers who gave us the resources we needed. This stage made me feel in touch with the current innovations in the field as we were becoming scientists ourselves.
Communication
For the second half of sophomore year, we started looking for potential mentors in our field of study. Before I pressed “send” on my first cold email, I was anxious, hoping that I had said the right thing. Yet, I felt a greater sense of excitement as the prospect of conducting research in a professional setting was on the horizon. Although my first fews attempts were unsuccessful, I pivoted, working among a network of family and friends. In May, I had established a connection with a potential mentor at a lab studying in my field of interest. As the summer approached, I realized that through this process I had a) learned to write professional emails, b) improved my confidence in talking to new people via Zoom, and, most importantly, c) started a new adventure in my academic career of applying my skills to a real-world experience. I worked under a generous mentor who guided me to conduct original research about connections between sensorimotor impairment and MRI findings. After meetings with my mentor, I was excited to investigate each new component of my research question. As the summer progressed, I felt more and more empowered to continue research after high school. In junior year, I communicated my research by polishing my research paper, creating several PowerPoint presentations, and creating the poster board to showcase at the science research symposium. Each of these projects taught me to approach my project with a new lens, presenting the work I had completed for a new venue.
Community
With each class spent in the research room, I realized more and more that the community of students, teachers, families, and administrators makes science research the program it is today. I look back on my research experience remembering the connections made that make science research a tight-knit community. In culminating events like the symposium, I become more grateful for each of the stakeholders who make the science research journey so influential for students and a cornerstone of their high school experience.