When I walked through the exhibit hall at the International Science and Engineering Fair this year, I began to remember why I still think that ISEF is one of the best experiences a high school student can have. This year has been very different for me — after spending two years presenting my own work, I find myself standing on the other side of the white chain that separates ISEFfinalists from the general public — but the electric atmosphere that is generated when 1,600 of the world’s smartest high school students are in one room is impossible to miss.

I skipped college for three days and took the train to San Jose for ISEF 2010 because ISEF is my yearly shot of inspiration. Every time I’ve walked onto the show floor, I’ve experienced first-hand the kinds of inspirational messages that adults try to tell kids like me: I’ve seen that, despite their age, high school students can make a difference in the world. I’ve seen that, despite the daily news of education cuts and poor funding for the gifted and talented, thousands of mentors across the world take it upon themselves to support their best students in learning “outside the book” and tackling some of the world’s toughest problems. Most of all, though, I see 1,600 kids who get the opportunity, at long last, to meet their equals and share their passion with the world. If these finalists have an experience anything like mine, they’ll walk out of ISEF with lifelong friends, a headstart in college, and the knowledge that science is both valued and valuable.

Having been through high school, I know that ISEF is one of the few unique opportunities that students can receive. Oftentimes, students can forget that learning has a purpose beyond going to class and preparing for standardized exams. ISEF, by contrast, rewards the “out-of-the-box” thinkers who think creatively, work independently, and make real contributions to science today.

I’m still a student today, but seeing these amazing research projects has reminded me that I don’t need a degree to make a difference; ISEF finalists show, year after year, that all I need is an idea that can change the world and the drive to make it “come to life.” In fact, a fifth-grader, seeing my ‘Alumni’ nametag, asked, “are you still a real scientist? ‘Cause this is AMAZING!” Yeah, I’m a scientist. So are the 1,600 students who spent this week in San Jose — and for a week every year, the world sees that they’re tomorrow’s superheroes.

Stephen Trusheim is an undergraduate at Stanford University studying Symbolic Systems, after winning a First Grand Award at ISEF 2009 and becoming an Intel Science Talent Search finalist. He spoke to the Intel Educator Academy at ISEF 2010 about the lessons he’s learned through science fairs.

Tags: inspired, Intel ISEF, isef

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