By Naisha Srivastava
In the middle of the turmoil of online school, I enrolled in Spark 2021, my first ESP program. I was ecstatic, but still apprehensive about my classes and the students there. In just a bunch of one-hour sessions, how much will I learn? Will people have their cameras on? Will I enjoy my classes?
During the first three classes of Spark, I had my camera off like the rest of the students and interacted in the chat instead of unmuting. But when I got comfortable I switched on my camera and mic which led other students to do the same.
It occurred to me that all it took was a single student to make a difference. Therefore, the next Saturday, I went to class with my camera, which soon prompted a few other students to follow. I saw the instructor’s face lighten up and it made me proud to think that I may have inspired someone else to turn on their camera or participate.
I loved attending False News: Why People Believe It, and How to Catch Online Lies as it was a small class and we had fantastic discussions. It was so fascinating to use Onshape as an introduction to computer-aided design and create legos, robots, etc. Help solve climate change was an amazingly organized class with so many great resources that I will definitely use in the future. I learned that the most effective way of stopping climate change is to help Congress pass effective legislation and that the average American’s carbon footprint is 16 tons of CO2 a year, four times the global average. Likewise, Introduction to the Stock Market & Cryptocurrency was very detailed and informative. Something, Definitely and Spontaneous 5-Minute Classes on Whatever You Want was so refreshing to attend since they were fast-paced classes with random topics. I attended the Science Bowl Walk-In class which was really incredible because I could learn while making friends.
Spark 2021 was a life-changing experience for me, not just because I learned about plasma, CAD, and programming, but also because it showed me that there are so many options and areas I could go into. Under the conditions of the pandemic, Spark was conducted flawlessly and was exceptional. I am extremely thrilled to attend Splash next year and learn more important or random things.
P.S.—Aardvarks or Orycteropus afer are so cute with their long snout and large pointed ears.
The Ripple 