Sabio Column

By James H. Choi
http://Column.SabioAcademy.com
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Note: This article was contributed to the Chicago JoongAng Daily in 2014. The details describe the story at the time, but the content is still useful today, so I will post it again in 2025.

Last Saturday, the Illinois Region 6 Science Fair took place. I served as a judge for the ISEF this year, which means that I have the important task of selecting the five best research papers from hundreds of submissions to advance to the international competition ISEF. This task is important because it can affect the life paths of the five selected students. The five students whose research I selected, along with professors from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, will receive full support, including transportation, to participate in the International Science Fair to be held in Los Angeles in May. Students who have attended this competition unanimously describe it as a “life-changing experience,” and the changes are evident even to observers. Students who have spent a week immersed in a world where scientists, including Nobel Prize winners, are celebrated as heroes develop a pride in science that surpasses the pride our children feel as Koreans after visiting Korea. They will no longer fear being labeled as nerds or geeks but instead will take pride in their love of science.

This overall motivation alone is highly desirable, but the practical benefits are even greater. First of all, the positive effect on college admissions is enormous. In my personal experience, more than half of my students who have advanced to ISEF or STS have been accepted to universities at the level of MIT or Princeton. Three students who did not win an ISEF award were immediately scouted as interns in the labs of judges during the judging process. It is not uncommon for students I judged at ISEF to recognize each other in the hallways of MIT or Harvard years later.

That’s not all.  If you have this kind of experience, even after you are accepted to college, you will have opportunities at a completely different level than your classmates.  For example, one student, despite his status as a freshman, is working in MIT’s computer vision laboratory where graduate students work. When I asked how he got in, he said that he got a job at the computer vision lab because his ISEF computer vision award was recognized. From the very beginning of his first year of college, he has already started a career that is different from that of his classmates who are working as teaching assistants or helping with administrative tasks, and in the world of the “Matthew Effect,” this gap will only widen.

And what better education can prepare students for life in a modern economy that emphasizes “original ideas” and “your own color” than the experience of pursuing your own research from the beginning in high school, where you are rewarded for your success and the opportunities that open up for you?

The judges have opened the door for some students to take their first steps into this wonderful world. Isn’t it a huge responsibility to decide which students are most qualified to benefit from this!

For the past six years, only students from Niles West and Niles North high schools have studied at that level, but this year, students from two other high schools have advanced to ISEF. Judging from the last names of the students, it seems that there are two Korean students among them. Korean parents have been only aware of the math competition and have been indifferent to the science competition, but that may be starting to change.

The judges have opened the door to this wonderful world for some students. What a responsibility it is to decide which of the most qualified students will receive this privilege!

For the past six years, only students from Niles West and Niles North high schools have made it to that level of study, but this year, students from two other high schools have advanced to ISEF. Judging from the last names of the students, I think there are two Korean students among them. Korean parents have been indifferent to the science competition, but that may be changing.

For students who want to go to a competitive college, this science competition is one of the best academic activities that can provide motivation, a formal record of activity, and practical improvement at the same time. And compared to other regions I know, the competition in Region 6, where many of this newspaper’s readers live, is not yet at the level of fierce competition. There are many studies that are reluctantly done because they were told to do them at school, and there are also studies that were wasted time because they didn’t know the basics, so although there are many students who participate, studies with unique and fresh ideas that can be confidently submitted to ISEF are still rare. Therefore, just like in other regions, if children of professors and doctors start submitting their work en masse, the rest will be left empty handed and watch the opportunities slip away. However for now, being born as a scientist in Region 6 is still an “easy” opportunity that is fully achievable. Parents who are well-versed in science and engineering are advised to focus on guiding their children’s research activities rather than test scores so that their children can enjoy their studies and follow a wise path that is also recognized. Also, in the years when your child participates, you can volunteer as a judge for Region 6 to contribute to the local community and have the double effect of preparing your child more thoroughly for the following year.