One thing about this movie – after seeing the will, intelligence, determination and talent of Ana, Harmain, and Kelydra – no one can criticize young people for not having ambition or innovative ideas.  Their courage – their valiancy – is inspiring!  Each one faced enormous personal challenges.  When you see what they do, you’ll know you can do it too!  In fact, they choose unlikely methods to address some of the world’s most challenging problems while exploring and facing their own deepest hopes and fears.  They’re awesome!

ana

MEET ANA, now a senior at Columbia University.

“My parents came to the U.S. from Ecuador in South America, in search of a better life for themselves and their future family.  I was born in Uniondale, New York, on Long Island, not far from New York City.  Most of my high school was and still is attended by Latino and African-American kids.  I couldn’t afford to pay for college, so I was very determined to succeed!

“At the time of the filming, I was a botanist.  My work was decoding plant communication through root development.  I became the leader of my school’s science research program.  My father helped me on my projects till very late at night, and the movie shows me going to Colorado State University for a summer internship and participating in different science fairs.

“Looking at myself in the film, I see now that I could have enjoyed the experiences of high school a little more, without allowing the need for recognition to get in the way. My participation in science fairs taught me a lot about discipline and focus.  Being in college has helped me to really find my place – I have a tremendous interest in public health, and I’m pursuing medical school after graduation this May.

“I was able to spend my junior year in Costa Rica, working with a public health foundation.  And I have been interning at the East Harlem Asthma Center, run by the New York City Department of Health; serving as a Spanish translator at St. Luke’s – Roosevelt Hospital; and have been volunteering with Project Health, to run a family health desk at a local clinic.  I really want to be part of breaking the link between poverty and poor health.

“When I was my high school class valedictorian, I said I wanted to make a difference in this world.  That’s still the way I feel.”

HARMAIN

MEET HARMAIN, now a senior at Yale University

“I was a couple of months old when I moved from Pakistan with my parents to Staten Island, New York. Science research gave me a focus, and allowed me to imagine a world in which I could have a significant career.  It really was the best option for me at the time.

“I worked very hard. At one point, my sister said that I was basically a 40-year-old man in a teenager’s body.  At the time of Intel STS, I was a paleontologist, learning about human evolution by analyzing fossilized crocodile teeth using electron spin resonance dating.  No one has ever done that before.  I spent 50 to 100 hours working on each tooth.  I did a lot of traveling between Staten Island and Flushing, Queens, where I prepared my samples.  Then I’d go to my mentor’s house on Long Island to work on calculations, and then about three times a year I’d go to Williams College in Massachusetts and run samples there with my advisor.

“When I look at the movie now, I see the tenacity and dedication that I still have today.  But a lot of my focus has changed.  When I graduate from Yale at the end of May, I’ll have a degree in Political Science, with my senior essay on art and nationalism in colonial India (it’s an interdisciplinary approach!).  Then I’ll be taking a job in New York City working as a financial analyst at Bloomberg, where I interned for two summers. If anything, my growth curve is still exponential … I’m a different person every week! 

“Regarding Intel STS, I see now that there’s no need to put as much pressure on oneself about winning or losing.  Good character-builder as STS is, the results are really out of your hands.  The point is that science taught me a lot of skills, particularly about reading primary sources and drawing my own conclusions.  Being part of STS opens doors, but being successful at it doesn’t automatically translate to real-world success. Many scientists working today were never part of the Intel competition.

“My advice is to explore all of your options, work hard, and remember that, win or lose, you’ll still come out ahead as long as you honor your work, and yourself.”

KELYDRA

MEET KELYDRA, now a senior at West Virginia Weslyan University.

“I’m from Parkersburg, West Virginia. DuPont and General Electric are the area’s biggest employers.  My father worked for Dupont for 30 years.  When WHIZ KIDS was being made, I was an environmental scientist.  I developed an affordable and efficient way to measure and remove a chemical that was in the water of the Ohio River.  Water is very sacred.  It’s part of everything, and I was passionate about keeping the water free of contaminants.  I designed a very simple way to get the chemical out, and applied for a patent.  Since the movie came out, I got the patent approved, and I’ve also applied for another one.

“My focus on the chemicals in the water created a lot of tension in the community.  The movie shows how a regional science fair was mysteriously cancelled for one year while I was doing my research and appearing on TV and in the newspapers.  That kind of opposition made me work even harder.

“Unlike some schools that actually have classes in science research – some even have coaching on how to succeed with the Intel Science Talent Search – I was on my own.  I had a friend from Harvard who advised me on how to present my work.  My advice to anyone participating in the Talent Search is just to be prepared for questions that have nothing to do with your field.  My expertise was chemistry and biology … and the Intel judges asked me about math and physics!  You just have to deal with it.

“When I graduate in May, I’ll have a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a minor in Human Biology.  I’ll always be interested in Environmental Science, but in the future it’s going to be more of a hobby.  After an internship with a family practice physician during the school year and one with a radiation oncologist last summer, I’ve become interested in the chemistry of how the body works.  So I’m now applying to medical schools.  To me, the human body is the biggest puzzle I can think of.

“If you have a real interest in science, you should never let that go.  My advice to anyone is to get a career – not a job – that you are passionate about.  Find people locally who can help you and teach you.  Follow people who can get you behind the gossamer curtain of what we think science is.

“You’ll need to push yourself.  It’s rough. But you should always find time to put it down and enjoy a hobby like walking by a river.  Get some physical as well as mental stimulation.  If you know in your heart of hearts that you’ve done the best you can do, then you’ll be able to go on no matter what happens.  When it really hurts, go off and have some Cherry Garcia.

“Best of all, don’t be a ‘one-trick pony.’  Do volunteer work.  Get involved with other people around you.  And keep going.  Sports people always have the best metaphors for picking yourself up and working to win that next game.  Just keep asking questions.  Each one leads you to a new answer.  And somewhere in there you find yourself.”