School  let out, and some North Harford’s students spent time experiencing opportunities which help prepare them for their college and careers.

    Junior Jacob Robinson attended the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was joined with 300 high school students from across the United States, but also Mexico and Pakistan. While in Virginia, Robinson went to the National Zoo, the White House, multiple national museums, the Lincoln Memorial, and the National Geographic headquarters.

    Robinson added that “each WYSE event every year also has a different environmental focus.” Every year, delegates get together  to find solutions to different environmental problems. Robinson was also able to witness a speech by Ralph Nader, a Green Party candidate from the 2016 presidential election, and “he actually inspired [Robinson] to consider a profession in environmental policies.”

    Robinson described his experience as “amazing.” While there, he got to know several people from far away areas. He states that “it was life-changing  to see so many people in this place that had just as much or even more passion for the environment than I do.”

    Junior Sydney Altman went to Aberdeen Proving Ground for an internship of observing and learning “about the PIF  lab and the engineers within that lab.” The PIF lab is the prototype integration facility where communication devices are integrated into military vehicles and equipment. Altman learned how mathematics used in school was applied into real life. She was able to oversee how devices were made through seeing how the engineers worked within the lab. She believes having an internship there was worth it because she got to see “what a job in the field might be like.”

    While there, Altman was able to enter a controlled temperature testing environment set at -90 degrees Fahrenheit. She stated that “all of [her] hair turned instantly white and [her] body was so cold that it didn’t even shiver.”

    Senior Kayleigh Gallagher was an intern at Towson University conducting research on Olbers’s Paradox. Olber’s Paradox is “focused on why the sky is dark at night if there are infinite stars in the sky.” She was able to work with a professor to go over details, but Gallagher did most of her research individually. Gallagher was able to present a poster at the Maryland Space Grant Symposium Student Research Consortium. Gallagher said skills she used to present her findings could be used for future projects in college.

  She added that in theory, stars should completely light up the sky due to the fact that there are infinite stars. She researched different theories proposed throughout history and even found out that “Edgar Allan Poe actually proposed one of the correct resolutions, and he was very into science.”