Hello, I am Luke Dai. I attended the 2016 Governor's School of Engineering and Technology (GSET) recently from June 26 to July 22. It was an adventure in more than one aspect. I met some of the smartest people in New Jersey in an enclosed environment and interact with them 24/7. Along with these people, we learn what engineering and its true meaning throughout these surprisingly short 27 days.
The First Day
The beginning of the first day was pretty standard. Get packed up, be at some center at 12 pm, listen to the Dean of GSET, Dean Antoine, speak, and unpack. We met up with our floor (we take up the entire four story building of Best, the dorm) and have icebreakers. That's when we start getting to know each other and make friends.
Usually, I am a very shy person and am pretty reluctant to know others, but I forced myself to make as many friends as possible. One of my best ways to make friends is to sit down and start a card game. Of course, one can play the conventional and boring President, but I've played that game to the point of disgust and hate, so I started playing Turkish BS instead. It is a game of strategy and smarts and TONS OF LYING. I thought that people would like this type of games and I was right. Those who have really similar personalities or same interests as me flocked to me and we instantly became friends. We became the self-proclaimed nerdy/weirdo group (I will tell you why later) of GSET. Dinner time on the first day was still a period of people jumping cliques. Through that process, I also met some more people. Although some left us for the more popular or mainstream groups, I felt glad that those who stayed can take the humor and weirdness that I do and say each day.