This was the day that nobody was looking forward to: the day when we would have to leave. Still, we had one more activity planned for us in the morning: breakfast with the Society for Science Board of Trustees. I sat at a table with HP Solutions President Dave Shull. He was a finalist in the Science Talent Search a while back and had a lot of life advice to offer us. He recommended that we take a gap year before we go to college so that we don’t get burned out and talked about the pros and cons of working in a huge company like Hewlett Packard.
Throughout the morning, finalists were departing to the airport on shuttles, and it was sad to see them go. I had such a great time with a group of such talented and excellent people and was disappointed that the week was now over. I did not really want to pack, so I hung out in the finalist lounge until the last possible minute. Since it was our last day, we brought our finalist books out so others could sign them and leave comments, like yearbooks at the end of the year. It felt reassuring to know that even though I was going to leave today, I would still be able to keep a bit of everyone inside my book. Additionally, I thought it was cool that I might have a future Nobel Prize winner sign my book or something.
Soon it was time for me to pack, so I went up to my room and started stuffing everything into my bag. It was already a tight fit when I arrived, but with all of the free stuff that the Society for Science gave us, I was having a tough time getting it all in the suitcase. Honestly, packing was harder than the panel judging questions (Dr. Valentine, consider using this next year!). I did eventually manage to get everything inside the suitcase, but it was a struggle. And then I had to leave. I gave all of my fellow finalists a goodbye hug and departed to the airport with my parents.
As I sit at home, writing this final blog post to complete the Regeneron Science Talent Search Finals Week, I know that I will have been forever changed by this experience. I finally understand why the words “BE INSPIRED” appear everywhere. Because the goal of Finals Week is to inspire us, through the thought-provoking conversations we have with others, challenging judging questions, and advice from accomplished speakers. As George Yancopoulos said, we finalists have a great responsibility, and I hope I can do something impactful in the future.
