Empowered Through Science

It's surprising how using the scientific method can change your outlook on life and the career you wish to have. It's also astounding the connections you can make, and the amazing people you can meet and continue to stay in contact with.

I was assigned to participate in science fair on my school level; little did I know my engineering project would take me to Houston, Texas where I would be competing against international projects at the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, Environment, Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP).

My engineering project focused on light pollution. Light pollution occurs when the light is shining up into the sky, as well as on the ground. There are several environmental issues surrounding light pollution.  Light pollution affects bird migration and the growth of flora and fauna. Light pollution also wastes valuable energy that could have been used to direct light in a conservative way.

To fix this problem, I engineered nine unique light shades to direct all light downwards. I tested each of these light shades with three different types of light bulbs; fluorescent, incandescent, and LED.  The best design was the ninth light shade. This design was a rectangular prism with asymmetrical flaps.  When the LED bulb was put inside, the design gave off the least amount of light pollution, lit the intended area, and illuminated the area consistently.

I have always wanted to travel outside of the United States, and interact with other cultures. I-SWEEEP gave me this opportunity. At I-SWEEEP not only was I able to interact with the most creative international scientists, but I also made friends who I am able to stay in contact with using social networks.

 

At I-SWEEEP, 70 countries across six continents were represented. From these countries, 601 students competed against 440 energy, engineering, and environment related science projects.

There were so many things I loved about being at I-SWEEEP; I loved the down time, judging, and the award ceremony. All the contestants and their guardians stayed at the luxurious Hyatt Regency-Downtown Houston hotel. The great part of all being in the same hotel was the opportunity to interact with the many nationalities through talking, playing games in the lobby, or even competing in the nightly water-polo game in the swimming pool. 

I-SWEEEP provided field trips to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the NASA Space Center of Houston. At the museum, we explored and watched a 3D IMAX movie. While attending the Space Center, we learned everything from the Space Program to what astronauts eat in space.  We were even given free time. My group from Utah chose to use this time to explore Downtown Houston. 

Judging was my favorite part by far; the row I was on was considered the "party row." Between our judging, we congregated in the center of the row and had fun talking about everything from our projects to planning a trip where we could all visit each other's states and countries. Our row was made up of students from Portugal, Indonesia, Brazil, Jordan, Hong Kong, and the USA. The other great thing about talking with each other was we were able to understand and accept differences between our cultures and countries. 

When I first arrived at I-SWEEEP, I thought I understood the pressure the international participants must have been feeling. They would be flying for many hours across the globe to Houston, Texas.  Most of the international participants didn’t speak English as a first language, and some had never been in the United States before.

My new international friends informed me of the extensive process they underwent to attend I-SWEEEP. Their countries had spent so much money to allow them the opportunity to share their ideas and projects with some of the young brilliant minds of the world. Not only were these students competing to receive an award, but they were also competing for the honor of their home country. I was humbled by the continuous hard work and pressure of my friends. I truly hoped they would be rewarded for their persistence, even if I didn’t place.

The award ceremony was amazing. There were many generous foundations and colleges who sponsored the award ceremony. They awarded everything from scholarships to laptops. The most exceptional part of the award ceremony was seeing my friends (representing their states and countries) from “The Party Row” receiving placement awards. The prolonged enthusiasm and support given by all the contestants was an exhilarating feeling. The finishing touch was when all the contestants from Utah placed in the energy, engineering, and environment topics.

I didn't want to leave Houston, and all the new friends I made (we figured we might be able to go on that trip to all our countries when we were successful, wealthy scientists), but we all hoped to be able to attend next year’s I-SWEEEP.

Although I-SWEEEP was May of 2011, I still stay in close contact with my friends from I-SWEEEP; mainly my dedicated and benevolent friend from Indonesia. 

Not only have I stayed in contact with my amazing friends long after I-SWEEEP, but I also knew what I wanted to pursue as a career.  I want to be a Chemical engineer who not only participates in a fun “everlasting science fair,” but who also is working to help the world through scientific discoveries.

Amber Barron [USA]

All It Comes Down To

I walked into the auditorium of Erasmus Huis and stared at the tiny stage. It was all what it came down to.

***

It was not one bit easy for me to make it to that point. It wasn't easy for all of us. Though we had done it before, there was a lot of apprehension over the fact that we could not do it again. People doubted us, and it made a lot of sense. It looked to be falling apart and dwindling to the ground. It was falling apart and dwindling to the ground. However, there was no turning back. We had no choice. Somehow, we had to make it work. Somehow.

Upon my return to Raffles PSB Singapore School, I was already given a job. Who would think that a returning student who had not even sat for his first class would have already been appointed as Director for the school's upcoming Christmas production? I had rejoined the school just in time for their second production of 'Dr Susses' How The Grinch Stole Christmas'. It seemed absurd that of all plays, we had to do this one. Why couldn't we just do a play with perfectly human characters? What seemed even more absurd was that we were doing this with a school of practically 200 people, that figure inclusive of all students, teachers and non-teaching staff from all levels. Then again, we had done it before. 

We staged a production of 'The Wizard of Oz' literally in 15 days. 15 days of sleepless nights and continuous rehearsals was what it took to stage, despite circumstances, a spectacular show. What I learnt from the last production's experience just before I left the school about two years ago was the true meaning of the line of poetry "when there is a will, there is a way." So, with that said, I guessed that that time should have been no different. I know how to have a will and thus, there is a way. This thing was going to happen, one way or another.

So, there was no turning back and we had to make it work somehow. When there is a will, there is a way. Yet, at the half way point, just under two months into the process of rehearsals, we deemed it true that it was not going to work and there was no way. It was a project deemed hopeless.

At one point, I turned to Ms Diana, the teacher who was my fellow Director, and told her that I could take it no more. I kept asking myself why I was doing it all in the first place. Then again, it was, and still is, my love for the school that kept me going. I had to repay what the school had done for me and my future with more than just tuition fees. I have to show them in my short three-month return not only what I had learnt in the previous school but also how all that I had learnt in my first four years in PSB has helped greatly.

I decided to step up and fulfil my duty to simply make it happen. On top of that, I decided that I would make sure it happened with quality that I am proud of. It's not that someone came to me and motivated me to not quit. I really did want to end it all. I wasn't getting paid to direct the production and it all only seemed not worth the time and sacrifices. But somehow, I couldn't leave. I just could not help but finish what I stated. I didn't want it to haunt me for the rest of my life. On top of it all, I didn't want to disappoint everyone. It was just much easier to move on than to quit.

***

So the day came. It was really happening. Three buses of performers pulled over. The students skipped up the flight of stairs to the second floor and took their seats in the auditorium based on their performing groups. Their smiles shined so brightly and their laughter filled the air with glee. Their emotional state was contrary to mine that was filled with fear and anxiety.

The day had just started and things were already off to a rough start. The show was scheduled to start at three and the time was already nine. The usually heavy traffic of Jakarta's morning rush hour caused the buses to be late. Tardiness was not a common problem in our school and we had not expected it to ruin our day's plans. Almost the entire cast raised their hands when asked who needed to go to the toilet when the toilet could only accommodate so many people at one time. The children were very hungry and a time had not been found to allow them to eat the countless boxes of food the parents had generously provided for us. Major props had yet to arrive. The boy who was supposed to play Max the Grinch's dog was still at home trying to recover from a fever that just seemed to get higher and higher. Worst of all, a dry run had yet to be done with the entire cast on the actual stage for the first and last time.

It was unimaginable. The tension was way too tense. Disaster had already lurked at my heels. I looked around and saw what my pessimistic mind envisioned. Everything was just not right. Then, as things got worse, so did the stress of it all. People were screaming and scolding each other over problems that were not even clear. Innocent little kids came up to me to ask appropriate and well educated questions only to get scolded by me because I didn't have the time to spare the few seconds needed to appreciate and understand. I would scream in their faces saying things like "Don't come to me for these kind of petty things!" or "Not now, I don't have the time for you. Figure it out yourself or ask Mr X or Ms Y." I would yell in their faces and leave them just like that. Even if deep down inside I wanted to help, I just could not. I had far more major and disastrous matters to worry about. In the rapid race against time, we probably weren't thinking when we were working. We were running around like headless chickens. One teacher asks a boy to go to the make-up room to get his make-up done before wearing his costume and on his way to the make-up room, the boy bumps into another teacher telling him to do the exact opposite. Imagine the confusion this nine-year-old boy is faced with. Imagine the chaos and disorder caught in all the drama and desperation.

However, one thing still surprises me to this day. I can scold a PSB, I can starve a PSB in the name of lunchtime one-on-one script reading, and I can even scream vulgarities in the face of a PSB, and yet, they still appreciate me. They still respect me whole hearted and hold no grudge on me. They understand me and can read my true intentions that are hidden way deep down inside and they read that it is good. I don't get a group of people like this to work with in any other institution and for that, it is one quality of a PSB that I truly do admire and appreciate.

***

In the rush of it all, somehow, we come to a stage where everything was ready. Everyone miraculously appears in the back stage holding room all properly seated based on their performing groups and all neatly dressed and made up. All eyes are on the two directors standing in the middle of the room and absolute silence is heard for the very first time that day. It was a moment that was the anomaly that day. The moment was an opportunity to finally catch my breath after hours of mayhem. We gave our final instructions and composed ourselves into prayer which, compared to the rest of the day, was a moment of great peace and tranquillity.

Then, it was show time!

As every line was uttered, I followed my script that was scribbled with instructions all over it. The play progressed line by line and as each line was recited, I thought of how many times that line had been rehearsed. Writing each line of the script was a painstaking process. Some lines were the results of hours and hours of careful consideration and thought. I pondered over certain phrases over my weekend, thinking of how to make this short phrase rhyme and fit just right. It takes hours for the line "The best who of the year will be given the once-in-a-year honour to light up the Who Christmas Tree" to develop into "The best Who of every year, will be honoured to light up to tree with holiday cheer!" just to make it rhyme. Then, it takes rounds and rounds of rehearsals and one-on-one script reading to perfect that one line. A lot goes behind one line. A lot of hard work and attention to detail goes behind making that three-second moment just a little more special. All the countless hours of preparation came down to only 120 minutes of each our lives.

When the intermission finally came about, I had the chance to mingle with the audience. To see smiles on people's faces and to hear positive reviews on what had been showcased up to that point finally gave me a sense of comfort and relief. It warmed the heart. However, what was even more touching was just seeing who was there. Everyone's family was there. The Grinch's grandmother who was in a wheelchair took the effort to see her grandson perform. Down to those who worked off stage, be it the props people or even the ushers, their parents were all present to support us, along with the extended family. Former teachers, alumni and down to the spouses of the teachers all came. It was the entire family of the school. Everyone was involved in one way or another, and that is what makes it so special and rewarding.

I leave the school with an experience like none other, feeling proud to have be, and still be, a PSB.

Yudhi Bunjamin [Indonesia]

The End of The Road: Novo Hamburgo

Novo Hamburgo... I'll never forget whatever happened there...

Novo Hamburgo is a small suburb near the city of Porto Alegre. It's such a small city with barely anything except shoes; which is what the suburb is famous for.

Because I left early for a 3-day holiday in Rio de Janeiro, I only met up with Mr. Didi and Owen on the 16th of November in Porto Alegre's airport. They had a flight delay from Sao Paulo, so they only arrived in the evening. And it was already night time when we reached Green Park Hotel in Novo Hamburgo. After going out for dinner, we called it a day.

We spent the next day touring the city of Porto Alegre by hiring a driver that was available at the hotel. We went to several different places such as the building that was previously used for an electricity power source, the mall (which is a must for every traveller that wants to see everything), the science center, an art museum (which was really amazing, by the way), the church (to ask for guidance). That evening, we went to Carrefour to store up our daily needs, such as snacks—cause I get hungry often, water, and some other stuff. We had dinner after, and had a good night sleep.

When I woke up the next day, it was already the big day. It wasn't the competition day yet, but it sure was the preparation day. Bringing the huge roll of posters, we walked towards the venue (since it was near). It was weird seeing our "competition" for the first time. Honestly, I didn't think of them as a competition at all. I just felt lost in the sea of high-schoolers and what looked like college students. They all looked 20 plus, and being the only 14-year-old there alongside Owen definitely felt awkward.

Ignoring the fact, we concentrated on decorating our booth. It was a bit different from the guidelines that we saw from the Internet, and after asking a few questions here and there (with the help of some interpreters that Mostratec provided), we managed to get a board which was supposed to be the place for us to post our posters. With the effort of all five of us (Mr Didi, Owen, his dad, my mom and I), we managed to put up the posters neatly. Putting our energy into the display for a few hours, we arranged the booth: from the posters to the provided items to display. We arranged the cables' placing so that our booth looks as neat as possible.

By the time we were finished, it was late afternoon already, and we saw the other groups getting ready because they arrived later than us. In my honest opinion, our booth looked really cool and it sure stood out from the others. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm just saying that we put a whole lot of effort into the display; from designing the posters, making the powerpoint presentation look right until finding the right toys to use as our display (and we finally ended up using Lego).

Mr. Didi gave us a quick review about the physics concepts that we used for our project, and all of our hearts were filled with excitement; we couldn't wait for the actual showtime tomorrow.

Tuesday was the public visit, Wednesday to Thursday were the judging days, and Friday was another public visit day. That was our brief schedule, so we relaxed on Tuesday, wearing our activity shirts and jeans. We had a little trouble presenting, though, since most of the visitors didn't know how to speak English. It was only then that we found out the competition allowed three languages: English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It was confusing, so we just showed them a brief animation of how our project worked. We didn't expect that we'd get a personal interpreter to stay at our stand all day long.

Surprisingly, our stand was really crowded; we didn't even do anything over the top. I mean, all you have to do is smiling, greeting people, having short conversation with them with your “broken” Portuguese, but that's what kept them coming. Smile and greet. Simple stuff, really, but that made a really good impression on our booth.

During the times when the venue was quite deserted, we socialized and had some conversations either with our new friends across, beside, behind our booths, or talked to our interpreters and learned about the typical things in Brazil. We found out that Southern Brazil has a traditional drink called Chimarrão, that a president election was going to happen soon, that at that time, it was the end of spring, and yet it was still 20°C-23°C.

Following the rules that were explained during the first day, the booth was not to be empty. So we had to take turns having lunch, if not they would give us a strike. Four strikes, you would be disqualified. The rules were strict there, and it felt oddly good to be in such condition. It was different, and it was exciting at the same time.

The event didn't end at 9 P.M.—only the exhibition did. There was an opening event from 9 P.M. to 11 P.M., and Owen was the Indonesian representative. He wore his traditional clothes while bringing the Indonesian flag. It was quite a tiring day, and we had more days to come.

       

The "Environmental Management" section, which happened to be ours, had their judging day on Wednesday. The teachers nor the parents were allowed to be near us, and the hall was clear; only the contestants were there. When the judges came to our batik-dressed selves, we were pretty confident because they didn't ask a lot, and we had a peek at their copy of our project report; it all had the writings "OK!" on it. We were pretty happy with that reaction, but deep down, I kept asking to myself,: "That's it?" It just didn't make sense. It was an international competition where there are competitors from twenty-one different countries and that was all that happened. That was the climax, the part that everyone feared. And turns out what I worried about was true. That was it.

The next few days passed on just like that: smiling, greeting, explaining. My voice was really hoarse on Wednesday night. There was a Cultural Exchange, but I didn't speak much. I didn't talk much that night either. My voice was never powerful enough to go through more than half a day of talking, and I just thanked God at that time because the judging already passed, so I had nothing more to fear.

Thankfully, Thursday morning, my voice came back. Well, kind of.

I met a lot of people, several different interpreters. It was really interesting to see different types of people all interested in science: from students who had to go around for their school assignment, to goth pairings going around the competition hall for a date, but they were all interested in science.

The simple conversation in Portuguese I had with the civilians were never different.

"Hey."

"Hey." After meeting several people, I found out that it was okay to greet people with a "Hey,".

"Do you speak English?"

"No. You speak Portuguese?"

"No," with a slight smile.

The conversation was that simple, and I had that exact same conversation with all different people. Believe me, that simple conversation was enough to get their attention to our booth for a few seconds, to pay attention to our project, and make our booth crowded. The simplicity of our project seemed to be one of our attraction points as well.

We had souvenirs: small bookmarks that had batik imprints on them. People seemed to like them a lot, and they kept praising the beauty of those bookmarks, the batiks on our shirts, and the traditional outfits that we wore. I couldn't help thinking, “If foreigners are so happy to see our culture, why aren't we?

Thursday night, my voice was even hoarser than the day before. I thought it'd be gone by Friday, so I didn't worry about anything.

I was wrong, though. Friday morning, my voice dropped into a lower pitch. It was really hoarse, and I just spent my whole day drinking water and running to the bathroom over and over. I didn't bother to greet every single person anymore; I was too worn out. I was too tired because of the previous days, and my voice didn't want to cooperate anymore. I was just really thankful that it was the last day, but it was kind of sad, too. I never liked goodbyes, and this was just one goodbye I had to pass. Being with the same people for five days, you get to know them more, you know? Most of us exchanged e-mails and Facebook names, and promised to keep in touch with each other. We still are.

Saturday came, and the awarding ceremony only started at 8 PM. To kill time, we hired a driver to tour a little 'city' called Gromado. It was basically a small German village with lots of cute stuff to see, and we enjoyed our tour. Before we knew it, it was 4 PM already; just enough time to get back and walk to the venue for dinner, and the awarding ceremony afterwards.

Wearing our navy blue and red activity shirts, we stepped into the awarding ceremony feeling extremely nervous. I had a happy and relaxed look on my face, but I was really tense inside. My emotional reactions always came late, and this was just one of those days.

After several speeches, the awarding ceremony finally started. I was really tense as they called the winners one by one, starting from the fourth places, and going up gradually to the firsts (four awards for each section).

When the time came to announce the firsts, I crossed my fingers. It was such a tense moment, since it was either first or nothing. Just then, I saw my friend, a group two booths from mine, who exchanged a cheek-to-cheek with me earlier, step up to claim first place. Being the naive person I was, I was happy for my friend, till Owen's Dad said this:

"Hey, that group is from our section, right?"

That was when it hit me. I started crying, just like that, endless. All the time I spent working on the project, all the things I sacrificed, all the things I missed, all the people who counted on us, all the people who supported me, who wished me good luck with their smiling faces... Everything flashed into my mind and it was like a huge pang of guilt that you couldn't fight back. Tears kept flowing down my face as I hid myself behind my mom's shoulder. Everything was a blur afterwards; I didn't know what was going on anymore. My mom just told me that when I was crying, Owen was silent, and Mr. Didi kept eyeing me with a helpless look on his face, slumping into his chair himself. We knew we were only junior high schoolers against all those high school and/or college people, but we did it once during the national competition, why not international?

I was mad, honestly. The judges didn't even bother to ask us thoroughly through our knowledge. They should know that we only understand to a certain point, but that doesn't mean we don't master what we understand. I was frustrated why we didn't get the same chance the other groups got. It was annoying, but we couldn't do anything about it.

After a while, I started to calm down, and I went to the bathroom to wash my face. Lucky for me, my eyes weren't that swollen, so it was safe for me to come back into the ceremony room with a slight smile on my face.

Only five minutes after sitting down, our project name was called. Not knowing what it was for (the whole ceremony was conducted in Portuguese), we went up anyway. Clueless, I expected it was the 'best project from each country' award, as it was mentioned in the information book. My assumption was right; we won that award, Best Project from Indonesia. Well, we beat some high school students (the other Indonesian contestants). It was like winning ISPO (Indonesian Science Project Olympiad; the national competition that allowed us to be the Indonesian representative to Brazil) all the way in Brazil, but whatever.

After the ceremony, there was a party, where a DJ was there to play music for everyone to dance. Honestly, I was really looking forward to the party, to just release all that tension with my new friends, but I was too tired. I walked quietly back to the hotel with the others.

Sunday morning, we were all ready to head to Sao Paulo to spend our last day in Brazil. Sao Paulo is basically like Singapore, but it's a Portuguese version. It was nice touring the city, but all I wanted was to go home. Lucky for us, we left that night. Well, the next morning, to be exact. 1 AM on the 25th of October, Brazilian time (GMT - 2). Boarding the 22-hour-flight plane (with 3 hours of transit in between), I was ready to head back to my own country, hoping to get back to my normal life with some extra experience.

Felicia Rebecca Isjwara [Indonesia]

Becky and her research partner Owen Yunaputra Kosman represented Indonesia in the 2010 MOSTRATEC Competition in Novo Hamburgo, Brazil.

Taking the Pledge

Sumpah Pemuda:

Kami putra dan putri Indonesia, mengaku bertumpah darah satu, tanah air Indonesia.

Kami putra dan putri Indonesia, mengaku berbangsa yang satu, bangsa Indonesia.

Kami putra dan putri Indonesia, menjunjung tinggi bahasa persatuan, bahasa Indonesia.

I stood, back straight, on the grassy field within the dark green Columbus Hall of Santa Laurensia School that housed the Junior and Senior High classes. It was the morning of the 28^th in this chilly October, the time of year when rain would frequent our area. The junior high school classes, from 7^th until 9^th grade, were lined up on the field as we progressed through our flag ceremony.

A ceremony for what you ask? Well, today wasn’t just any ordinary date. It was October 28 2011. 83 years ago, on this exact date, was the day that some call “the birth of Indonesia”. Not the date of Independence, but rather, the day we banded together and united in national spirit.

Historically, Indonesia did not gain independence until seventeen years later on August 17, 1945. The road to independence wasn’t smooth. And the revelations and ideas produced on this day was the spark that lit fire in the hearts of Indonesians who decided to strive for freedom from the colonial reign of foreign nations.

In the year 1928, the second Youth Congress (Kongres Pemuda) was held in Indonesia, joined by Youth organizations all over the country. In the Youth Congress the Youths would discuss many issues, from the economy to education to general welfare.

Can you imagine how the number of Youths that came together, sat down, and pitched ideas and dreamed of a better future of their country, were responsible for shaping the flourishing country Indonesia has become now?

A few famous items produced on that day were the national anthem Indonesia Raya and the inspiring text that opened this essay the Sumpah Pemuda or Youth Pledge. This Pledge, written from the minds of great Youth, has become as sort of reminder of Youthful potential, a guideline that drives the spirit of young Indonesians.

The message stated is clear: that 1) the ‘sons and daughters’ — the young people, the next generation — of Indonesia, acknowledged Indonesia as their homeland, 2) acknowledged Indonesia as their nation, the people within it despite the differences, their family, and 3) upheld it’s language of unity, bahasa Indonesia which has always been part of Indonesian’s unique culture. All 3 points of the pledges show how dedicated the Youths of that time were in defending and fighting for their beloved nation.

A sort of pulse-racing adrenaline ran through my veins when the pledge was read during the ceremony. I thought of how the past accomplishments the pledge writers must’ve made history and how their nationalism and drive was sort of over-shadowing the Youths of today. And deep inside, I had this burning, unquenchable desire to show that we – us kids – are capable of doing something great. Something life-changing.

We live in a world that is plagued with apathy. It’s undeniable that this modern, competing world has little room for mediocrity. Not many of us get a chance of success, leading to this modern day belief of not to try. As George Zinavoy once said in the movie, The Art of Getting By:

“It’s more like we’re living in a dying time, you know. I mean, you’ve got global warming, wars, terrorism, tsunamis. We’re definitely on the downhill side so what are we looking towards? What’s the point?”

It is hard living in a world that makes you feel like trying isn’t even worth it. It’s even harder when you’re not even given a chance.

It’s easy to see why the adults of today have almost zero trust in kids. We haven’t really done much to show our worth. We barely have the will to go to school, we’d rather sleep all day and party all night. In extreme cases we’d rebel, drop out of school and do drugs and have sex.

But those stereotypes aren’t true. They most certainly don’t apply to most of us. I for one, am tired of being underestimated. And luckily, Youths have stepped up their game, and the Youth empowerment front is definitely on the move. Question is: will you play your part?

Trust, me this ‘dying world’ needs each and every one of us kids, to open up the path to a better future. So take the pledge and feel empowered!

Karin Novelia [Indonesia]