YSP Summer Focus Symposium and Banquet

Written by Peggy Ni - YSP Volunteer

On August 5th, 2011 YSP held its annual symposium and banquet for its Summer Focus participants. Wasn't it just yesterday that the students were learning the tricks of the trade at the Research Bootcamp, which aimed to build up good lab techniques? Now, after a mere 8 weeks, participants have successfully given talks about the research they conducted this summer in front of a large crowd – an experience that can still be intimidating and terrifying to many of us who have done this numerous times. Members of the audience had nothing but praise for the speakers. Tom Woolsey, YSP Faculty Advisor, was impressed that so many students knew the important questions their research was addressing and didn't get caught up in the scientific jargon. Beth Tuck, as co-instructor for the Summer Focus Writing Course, would be an expert on the students' performance and progress, and she remarked that the students exhibited considerable poise for their talks. What must have contributed to the students' success were the daily practices during the week leading up to the symposium. Many involved with Summer Focus agree with this and say the presentations were significantly cut during these practices in order to be within the 5 minute limit. Clearly, the YSP volunteers who attend the practice talks armed with timers and beepers must be commended! In addition to the symposium, another important component of the Summer Focus program the students must complete is the paper detailing their research. The Writing Course as well as the YSP volunteers who tutor the students throughout the summer have definitely done a great job teaching the students how to write a scientific paper as well as fundamental skills such as organization. In fact, the parents of Henry Chappell, one of the Summer Focus students, were the ones who noticed and praised the course's structure as instrumental in encouraging organization and finishing segments of the paper well in advance of the final deadline. Now that the Summer Focus program is over, what's next for the students? Visiting and applying to colleges were on the minds of some, as these topics dominated conversations overheard during the banquet. Parents, students, and YSP volunteers discussed the merits of including the research papers in the college application as well as which college representatives left a positive impression during college information sessions YSP organized. Whatever the future plans of the students are, everyone was pretty confident that they would strive to stay in touch with each other. From the camaraderie they exhibited during the symposium and banquet, it is clear they've developed a special bond from their experience this summer.