Grade 11 student, Nastia B., spent her 2024 summer in Long Island, New York at the prestigious Garcia Summer Research Program. She was the only student from Europe participating in the program of over 90 participants.

“I really enjoyed how open and friendly everyone was; it was easy to make friends and I got to know a lot of people from different backgrounds,” said Nastia of her experience. “I was able to interact not only with my peers but also with many knowledgeable professors. The opportunity to engage with such a diverse and educated group made the experience even more enriching.”

At the program, Nastia spent six weeks working on a project that investigated the effects of graphene oxide on bacteria. At the end of the program, Nastia and her group members presented their projects at a symposium and an abstract of their research paper was reviewed by a highly esteemed professor.

“Before the program started, I was really uncertain. But to my surprise, everything went smoothly. The first week provided a brief introduction to all the topics, which was helpful given the variety of subjects available. The material was definitely challenging, but once we selected our individual projects, it became easier to dive deep into the subject. The majority of the work involved experiments and lab work, which I found incredibly engaging and entertaining.”

Nastia did such an outstanding job within the program that she was invited back the next year without going through the selection process. 

Photos above: Student colleagues of Nastia work on an experiment (top). The “Poster Effects of Go and PrGo on bacteria”, presented by Nastia and her project team (bottom). 

In true Nastia form, she didn’t pass up on the opportunity to play basketball, joining some pickup games and competing against “a lot of experienced players” during her time in New York.