![\"Nelson](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_4753-Nelson-research.jpg\")
<\/a>An added bonus, according to Nelson, is that he earned money this past summer conducting research in Williamsburg.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can do this thing that I love called \u2018physics\u2019 and get paid for it,\u201d he said in disbelief, encouraging the high school students to consider a similar summer job while in college.<\/p>\n
Nelson was one of seven MSA alumni invited to discuss their college research experiences during the academy\u2019s Evening Lecture Series Oct. 13. It was the first session of the 2015-16 school year, and MSA teacher and lecture series coordinator Babette Zado intentionally selected the topic to take the fear out of research for younger students.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight is really aimed at the freshman and sophomores to try to help them not feel so afraid of research,\u201d Zado explained. \u201cBecause it seems very daunting, but it doesn\u2019t have to be.\u201d<\/p>\n Both in person and via recorded video messages, alumni reflected on their initial intimidation with research.\u00a0However, each one noted that their experiences in high school provided them with the skills and confidence to pursue some great opportunities in college.<\/p>\n \u201cI entered the University of Virginia with a passion for engineering that I honed in on while at Ocean Lakes,\u201d Alex Pawlowski told students in a videotaped message.<\/p>\n Pawlowski, a 2010 MSA graduate, explained that \u201cresearch can be a way to figure out what you want to get out of the college experience,\u201d and he described how he further developed his own leadership and technical skills through various opportunities.<\/p>\n Today, Pawlowski has a full-tuition fellowship as a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee to study 3-D printing and vehicle transportation. Not only is he studying it, he is leading an effort on the subject for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, collaborating with three different labs to explore and research it.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery experience at Ocean Lakes helped prepare me to take on the next challenge,\u201d said Pawolski, citing his involvement with the academy, cross country team, track team and leadership workshop.<\/p>\n Pawlowski encouraged the ninth- and tenth-grade students in the audience to look into research opportunities in college and further explore their high school studies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worse thing that can happen,\u201d Pawlowski added, \u201cis that you have an experience that tells you what you don\u2019t<\/em> want to do. That\u2019s ok. That\u2019s a learning experience, too. Keep refining what you want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria Kapral, a 2012 MSA graduate and senior at the College of William and Mary, knows she wants to be a physical therapist but only started helping a research team this summer. She explained that working through the process of her own research project in high school \u201cmade me more comfortable saying to a professor, \u2018I know you have all this going on, but do you mind me just coming in and helping you. I don\u2019t need to have my own project, just to contribute in any way I can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Kapral said the team is \u201cclosing in on the end of its research\u201d and soon will be submitting results for publication. In her brief time with the team, she has worked with laser microscopes, which she described as \u201cfun and fantastic,\u201d and spent 10 hours at a time completing a set of microfiber analysis images. In addition to the hands-on experience in a science lab, Kapral said she has benefited from the \u201ccollaborative effort and problem-solving experience\u201d on the team.<\/p>\n \u201cPersonal accountability, patience and perseverance,\u201d are what 2014 MSA graduate Charles Holmes told the audience he learned from his senior mentorship and research in the academy. He also credited his high school experiences with giving him the confidence to approach a professor and volunteer his time in a lab at James Madison University where he is a sophomore.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of good things happening, but I think a lot of students are afraid,\u201d reiterated Zado. \u201cThis is why you do research here, while it\u2019s not scary. And you go off to college and you don\u2019t hesitate because you feel comfortable walking up to a professor and saying, \u2018I\u2019ve done this, and I want to do this for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Anna Phan, who graduated from Ocean Lakes in June and started her studies at Old Dominion University this fall, is excited to take advantage of research opportunities in higher education like her fellow MSA alumni have. She has plans to study biology and biochemistry but recognizes the options are limitless.<\/p>\n \u201cResearch gives us a big opportunity to explore our interests and our passions and to see if it\u2019s really what we want to do,\u201d she said, \u201cand if it doesn\u2019t work out, we can always explore another direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>