I spent the day at a local high school recently. High school has not changed much since I was there. It was a lot of fun. I talked to anatomy physiology, chemistry and advanced science classes. I tried to give the kids an overview on what it is like to spend 9 years in college to obtain advanced science degrees. I told them about becoming an EMT to pay for college. In one of the classes I went into how the education system in Europe compared to US.
There were some students who were extremely engaged in the day’s presentations. Some of the students were interested in what I do at the University of Cincinnati especially because it is a common destination for local high school students. One obviously very bright student asked me a poignant question as far as if my current research could be treated with an idea she described to me. I complimented her on her idea and admitted that the idea was the subject of a multi million federal grant application right now. She was pleased and I was highly impressed.
All in all it was a great day. I may never know if any of these budding scientists blossom into researchers, but I planted some seeds in a few Juniors and Seniors and will return in a couple years to talk to another crop of students.