Responses from NetSci High 2012 Participants
"[T]he NetSci 2012 conference…..was a fantastic learning experience and a great introduction to the field. It gave me opportunities and experiences most teens don't have, such as presenting a poster at an international conference, and meeting scientists from many universities from around the world, which gave me a better perspective on the academic world…and increased my interest in not only Network Science, but also in fields such as Biology and Physics."
- Dan Seel (student)
"[The student] has learned many valuable lessons about working with a team, about doing research, and about being a part of a intellectual and academic community -- a network! …Having an opportunity to present his team's research in this forum where he and the other NetSci High researchers were welcomed as colleagues was just a taste of what pursuing a research career could be like for him in the future."
- Mary Seel (parent and chaperone)
"During our first year of research, I learned not only about the science of networks, but also about the general research process…NetSci High provided me with the opportunity to research topics outside of the typical areas of academic study (biology, math, etc.) while also teaching me the importance of time management and collaboration. NetSci High has been an excellent experience overall and has strongly influenced me to continue research in both networks and elsewhere as I continue my education."
- Deanna Blansky (student)
"I believe the students learned a great deal and this experience will give them something that will truly set them apart from their peers...The fact is, if you find a good group of high school students, high school teachers, and college students who are all motivated, this project can be a ton of fun and a huge learning experience for all involved. The trip to Evanston alone was worth every minute I put into this project."
- Philip Dexter (undergraduate mentor)
Responses from NetSci High 2011 Teachers
"Research is very difficult but possible ground breaking research can be completed by high school students with hard work."
- Serena McCalla
"The authenticity of the experience, from struggling to define a question, devising and implementing a means of testing ideas about it, interpreting the results, all while negotiating the perspectives and feedback of participating parties was an opportunity to learn by doing the thing it is we seek to describe. There is no substitution or simulation that could faithfully mimic that experience."
"Our student investigators proceeded from enthusiastic to intimidated to increasingly confident as the project progressed. ...I noted that the kids were working a lot more independently as time went on. I think they finally appreciated that they were generating the information, rather than working toward some pre-verified, known ‘truth.’ "
"...the lasting benefit of the program is in the creation of opportunities for high school aged students to collaborate with an active researcher on ...novel inquiry. "
" It is an emerging discipline and high school instruction should keep pace both to educate students about the field as well as to prepare learners to meaningfully participate in such investigations as undergraduates."
- C. Anthony Finney
"I know this project influenced how our students now think about science and we have definitely looked at putting a unit into our curriculum or teaching an elective that we design with our “network scientists” so that all of our students have the opportunity to be exposed to this."
- Julie Gallagher
"[My student] definitely has an appreciation for network science, a science she never considered prior to this program. She also learned the difficulty of coordinating group projects."
"[Student] has a greater confidence to pursue work outside her comfort zone."
"It afforded the students a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet real career scientists, interact with them, and discuss their own work."
" I am now more confident pushing my research students to be placed in labs that involve greater computer analysis and programming skills- previously I would have avoided such situations. In the classroom, it has strengthened my desire to show students the interconnectedness of science and the world."
- Michelle Seeley-Flannory
"[My student] also gained an introductory understanding of network science (clearly demonstrated to me when he was able to ask questions and have a discussion with several researchers who gave presentations at the NetSci Conference)."
"The fact that [student] was able to work side-by-side with a PhD and learn how to write programming, collect data, analyze the data and create a professional poster is by far the best part of this program. These are skills that will be immediately transferable in college."
"I believe this is an amazing opportunity for students. I now have a better grasp of the concept of network science, so I think I could be a stronger mentor on future projects."
- Margaret Savitzky
Responses from NetSci High 2011 Students
"It was a very exciting day when we were finally able to visually see our networks for the first time."
"I enjoyed the beginning of our project, while we were still brainstorming ideas, because more than anything the three of us wanted to learn about something we were all genuinely interested in. For the first time we were able to think about what would interest us, and not what the school curriculum demanded of us."
"I believe this experience was far more worthwhile than any other out of school activity I have ever done."
- Emma Valentine
"Little did I know I’d be given advice and assistance from multiple accomplished individuals who made this experience not as over-whelming as I had pictured it to be."
"I plan on researching network science next year as well…and potentially find the network metrics on my own."
- Jessica Calderone
"My favorite thing about this project was probably being able to be a part of something new and different, something I wouldn’t have been able to experience in a school classroom. It was also interesting to be able to apply this branch of science to something that I see daily; fiction."
- Josie Trichka
"I truly do believe that this is an excellent program that should be offered to many more areas of the United States."
"…this project was truly inspirational and definitely worth the time and effort."
"This project taught me how to take a concept and design an entire project around it, to discuss and dispute with others in order to make the project the best it can be, learn college level material and write college level posters, work with leading scientists, and overall be a better student, listener and worker."
- Brianna Benson
"I think this experience has helped prepare me for college and given me an advantage for doing a research study during my college career because I will have a knowledge of the process that not many students will."
"…although I have a lot going on, we always made time to work on the project because it was fun all of us were anxious to see what we could conclude."
- Cara Boothroyd
"After being taught about the subject I was excited by the innovative perspective it offered as opposed to the more traditional method of scientific study."
"I thoroughly enjoyed the work, and it has piqued my interest in not only network science, but a science career in general. I wish that there was more teaching of network science in schools because the distinct perspective it offers is enjoyable to learn."
- Christina Kavanaugh
"I had to work a lot with my team in order to successfully complete this project and the teamwork skills that have come from this experience were well worth the effort."
"Through the study of the social networks of my own peers, I have learned an incredible amount about network science and have gained overall life skills. I am confident that this experience will help me in the future, not just in team projects, but in all aspects of my life."
- Deanna Blansky
"I get the chance to involve into a field that I never think before, and I never notice that a simple question like ‘who’s your friends?’ can make a lot of conclusion and a simple question that can take forever of studied to verify the answer."
"I really appreciated with the work we done, and the hard, tough time we spent on data collecting because it become good memory of high school life, especially for me who graduate this year."
- Deng Lin
"I don’t know how successful our project was but I am really proud of what we came up with and I think it’s an interesting project we have with real data. It has been an intense experience working with real life samples and research questions. I look forward to working in this lab or field again in the future."
- MD Uddin
"I consider myself to have 9 true friends, and of those 9 not all would have to respond the same way in considering to me to be a friend. Many life lessons were highlighted in this analysis."
"The NetSci program also required me to learn to work with students who I did not know and were not in my circle of friends…I prefer to be responsible for my own work, and the patience required while awaiting data for months was taxing."
"This experience has allowed me to grow as a researcher, and exposed me to a science that I originally never personally considered."
- Nakita Ramhit
"Doing the experiments and crunching the data for the first time also lends an undeniable feeling of discovery. The experiments I have done were also so much more advanced and fascinating than anything I have seen in school. There is a complexity but also freedom that I have felt working in a laboratory that I have rarely felt in school."
"The significance and prevalence of networks in biology is one thing that I will definitely keep with me from this experience."
"Working in a network science laboratory put me in such a unique environment that was really amazing. It was a lot of fun, and it was really rewarding to see that my work since December became the results that I have for my project."
- Jennifer Walsh
"The many options and future opportunities that a network science or global approach provides was another appealing aspect of the project for me."
"…I am excited to work on [my] project over the summer and hope to become more comfortable with creating networks and modular levels by myself."
"Those of us students who shun specificity and calculations in favor of reconciling concepts with reality, who are fascinated by how things relate to each other and the patterns in connection, may have our place in the scientific community after all."
- Mary Lindsay Cerulli
"Now with this knowledge of programming and networks, my quest for becoming a doctor will be easier because I will be able to think of a world as a connected place with an algorithm to solve every problem."
"I truly appreciate the funding of this great opportunity for high school students to be working with network science labs and learning about the connections of our world…this is extremely useful in life and I will always bear this knowledge with me for the future."
- MD Tareque
"…it was the graduate students I communicated with the most…I am grateful for their contributions of time and knowledge."
"…I would definitely like to continue researching at the lab with the professor and graduate students with their permission."
"Everything that I have gone through these past few months has profoundly changed the way I view science, and I greatly appreciate being provided the opportunity to take part in this program."
- Shun Aizawa