For rising junior Anna, the EXPLO experience combines two of her favorite things: her love for science, and her desire to meet new people.
I’ve been obsessed with science since I was in second grade, and I love marine biology, so that was an obvious choice for my workshop. I just love how science can explain everything. The experiments, the dissections — it’s all so compelling. As I start thinking about college, I see myself studying to be a biology teacher or even being a research biologist, but it’s pretty early to know for sure.
With it being my first year at EXPLO, I’m really impressed by the classes but also the environment. Meeting people and learning about new cultures are my favorite things to do and EXPLO is perfect for this. I’ve never been in an environment quite like this before.
Usually, people I interact with outside of EXPLO all have this shared experience and lead similar lives. But here, everyone is so different. What they do at home is so different than me or than at EXPLO. Home life, cultures, and even schools are so different. For instance, I’ve learned that many people from Brazil have a nanny that lives at home with them, which isn’t so common in America. I taught someone how to do laundry the other day because this was something the nanny had always done, and she was excited to have the chance to learn something like that.
My main priority after EXPLO is to keep all these connections I’ve made. Especially those that aren’t that far from me — I’m already planning weekend trips to visit them at their homes.
Sabrina Polin