Education during the summer: Students pursue enriching summer activities

Sophomore Eric Taw has applied to multiple summer programs at colleges, all involving science. Along with many other students, Taw will be looking to gain valuable experience in specialized programs this summer.

Taw’s application choices included prestigious programs at universities such as UC Davis, University of Pennsylvania and Brown University.

“They’re a bunch of laboratory research summer programs. You’re paired with a professor, and you do your own research and learn laboratory techniques. [At the end of the program], you do your own research paper,” Taw said.

Some artistic students apply for summer programs that they hope will hone their talents while collaborating with other motivated and talented musicians. Sophomore Vivian Wang plans to attend Music at Menlo, an exclusive music program where musicians around the world collaborate and perform.

To qualify for the program, applicants had to go through a rigorous application process.

“The application asked for basic information like who your private teacher is, how long have you studied your instrument, awards you have won/received and what chamber music experience have you had,” Wang said. “It also required three videos of three pieces of contrasting musical periods. That was only … the first online screening round.”

Wang hopes to learn a lot from the camp and hopes it will be a good preview for a musical career.

“I’ve attended some of their student concerts during last year’s season, and the students … sounded so professional,” Wang said. “I hope to achieve more chamber music experience and connections with teachers from different schools. Plus, you meet musicians from all over the country and the world and they all come from different backgrounds.”

While many students participate in programs located at colleges and universities, sophomore Akshay Madhani will intern at a computer corporation.

“A lot of the students are applying to academic internships this year, and I don’t really find that interesting,” Madhani said. “I would much rather go to a corporation … and do an interesting project for them.”

Madhani hopes to increase his insight in the business side of computer science and engineering.

“The internships I’m applying to are mostly in the computer science business,” Madhani said. “Here I’m really hoping to experience a corporation, like how it works, and how they assign projects to interns … I think will give me a little more responsibility.”

Science teacher Bob Kucer also believes that while these programs provide students with new opportunities, students should not be overzealous in applying to these programs.

“These programs can be a life-changing experience, one of increasing or decreasing interest in a field,” Kucer said. “The problem arises when students incorrectly think a summer science internship guarantees admittance to a specific college or university.”

Instead, Kucer advises students to pursue their passions and use summer as a way to explore different opportunities.

“Find things to do that make you want to get up in the morning,” Kucer said. “It could be music, literature, drawing, dancing, helping others, exercising, athletics, science projects, because ‘When the sun comes up, you better be running.’ And don’t forget to have some ice cream.”