The following blog was written by Erika DeBenedicits, Intel Science Talent Search 2010 winner

As the 40 finalists gather in Washington, D.C. today to kick off the Intel Science Talent Search, a program of Society for Science & the Public, Erika DeBenedictis, the 2010 winner and recipient of $100,000 from the Intel Foundation offers some words of wisdom and good luck to this year’s finalists.

Finalists,

Let me introduce myself. I’m Erika DeBenedictis, a long-time science research contest competitor and last year’s Intel Science Talent Search winner. As you arrive in DC, I’d like to say welcome, and congratulations! You are going to have so much fun!

I’m writing a blog post to give you a little perspective from someone who’s been through the process.

Let me begin by dispelling a little of the mystery surrounding judging interviews. Here’s how it works: you have three 15-minute interviews, each with three judges. A few minutes before your interview time, you go to the waiting room and sit with other waiting finalists until your judges are ready for you. This is the part where you sing motivational songs to relieve the tension! I highly recommend “Little Rabbit Foo Foo” and “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” Then you sit down with the judges and start talking about science. Judges will ask questions ranging from “solve this differential equation” to “how do you think we can improve science education in America?” They’re not trying to trick you, and they don’t expect you to know all the answers. When I was done with all my interviews I wanted to do more of them because it’s so much fun to get to talk one-on-three with the judges.

Let me also say a little about meeting the Intel Fellows. Coming into STS, I didn’t know much about the Intel Fellows, and I didn’t realize how interesting the Fellows/Researcher Dinner would be. Consider that Intel really enjoys encouraging students to do science. As the crème of the crop, they especially enjoy treating STS finalists to a nice time. The Fellows/Researcher Dinner is an opportunity for you to talk to some of the most respected scientists who work for Intel. They’re not there because they’re required- they’re there because they enjoy meeting students. You’ll have a fascinating evening!

People often say that the best part of STS is meeting the other finalists. Cheesy as it sounds, it’s true. The night before the last day of STS last year I remember realizing that while getting in the top ten would be like a dream come true, it didn’t matter. I had so much fun and there were so many memorable conversations: everything from an argument on the bus about how to better improve science education, to a review of how muscles work, to a discussion of how best to suspend a balsa-wood dinosaur model with balloons so that it maintained a constant, waist-height altitude. I was given the opportunity to get to know the other 39 finalists, and I still keep in contact with many of them. That is a real reward in itself.

STS is a big deal and sometimes that might make it seem like a lot of pressure.

Don’t be pressured. Have fun!

And with that, let me wish you good luck!

-Erika DeBenedictis

Tags: education, Erika DeBenedictis, Intel Inspire, Intel Science Talent Search, Society for Science & the Public

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 10th, 2011 at 12:55 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.