Summer is Always Fun

By Casey Takahashi

Summer is always fun. This summer I was able to attend some of the INSPIRE Virtual Stem Experiences. Those were great! I loved how interactive they were. (NOTE: Three plants sprouted--one died, one is tall and skinny with no leaves yet, and the other one I'm not really sure if it's a basil plant! lol) I also had time to catch up on many of the Live Chats I missed out on over the year. Then I went to COSMOS, which is a summer camp put on by the University of California. There are 4 campuses that host students (UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and UC Santa Cruz). Each campus offers 8 different subjects, and you can apply for one, two or three (but you only get chosen for one). I wanted computer science, physics (it was about light and optics), and bioengineering (red blood cell) at UCSD. I got my first choice, computer science. I lived and ate in one of the dorms with one roommate. Everyone would get up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to lectures, have lunch, then do lab work or talk in a discussion group in the afternoon. Sometimes we’d go on a field trip! In the evenings, we’d hang out with our suite and play games and bond. It’s a mix of hard work and play. There are different papers you have to write, and at the end of the 4 weeks you need to complete a project, make a poster board, and deliver a presentation to the staff, parents and other family members. I didn’t get a lot of sleep, especially toward the end, but it was extremely rewarding. I topped off my summer with a trip to Disneyland!! ! My summer was great, beginning to end.

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