Wishing Upon A Turtle by Mia

Wishing Upon A Turtle by Mia - August 2022 Scholarship Essay

I start the year off with the same routine I have had since the eighth grade. I open up my wish turtle, a small quarter sized trinket from Massachusetts given to me by my best friend- another addition to my collection of turtles from around the world. On the morning of my first day of school I list off all of the things I want to accomplish for the year. This year's list will consist of the usual things I wish to maintain- straight A's, strong friendships, and good health. However, this year is a bit different.

I am participating in my last school science fair and I am intent on leaving my mark on both the school and the state before I am set to head off to college. I have dedicated the majority of my summer at my UT Health Science Center internship developing an experiment that I could be proud of, while getting a better understanding of how to properly manage myself in a lab setting. I will be walking into the first day of school with a 15 page research outline going over "Introduction of Different Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) Inhibitors within Dugesia Dorotocephala" and a list of materials to kick of preliminary testing, or at least that is the plan as of right now.

I have made it to state science fair a total of two times throughout my high school career, but that was not before I experienced the failure of not being able to qualify locally during my middle school competition years. I had a hard time working through my stage fright when it came to presenting to a panel of judges and getting the concept of my experiment across to others in a comprehensive way. I held out hope that my passion for research and experimentation would drive me to future success. I chose to take more advanced math classes such as Calculus to create a better data display and, advanced English courses such as Seminar to foster a more developed presentation that would visually appeal to any onlookers.

Science fair is a year around dedication to developing a research paper, conducting preliminary and primary experiments, and getting second opinions from teachers and available lab mentors. The work is tedious, unpredictable, and at times a bit frustrating but my focus is unwavering as I push to meet my ultimate goal.

The fourth and final item I will be adding to my wish list is my goal of making it to the international level of the science fair competition. An event that gathers young researchers from across the world. An experience that I have been striving for ever since I was a little girl looking at different backyard specimens through my very first microscope. Making it to the international level of science fair is this years wish, a wish that will be kept safe from any outside influence by the light green coated shell of my prized wish turtle.