Hobbies
Talking to interesting people, listening to upbeat music, reading, traveling

Clubs
Math Team, Physics Team, Teaching Assistant at Polish Saturday School

Experience
First place in 2006 AAPT PhysicsBowl (Division II, Region 10), ARML, AIME, National Merit Finalist, National AP Scholar

Biography
I was born in Bialystok, Poland and moved to Edmonton, Canada when I was seven. On the first day of second grade at St. Boniface Elementary School, I showed up in my language arts class with primitive English skills. Up to that point, I had attended school in Poland, where there was no incentive for a seven year old to be able to communicate in English. However, as soon as I arrived in Canada, it became imperative that I master speaking, reading and writing this new, exotic language. Submerged in a foreign environment, I made drastic progress and bridged the gap between my abilities and those of my Canadian peers.

Once I broke the language barrier, any other obstacles that I stumbled across seemed minor. By the time I moved to Minnesota in fourth grade, I was at ease in my new environment. As a child, I was relatively “well-rounded”; I participated in numerous sports, played an instrument, and competed in spelling bees as well as Math Olympiads. However, as I entered high school, I realized that I have a particular interest in math and science.

I completed the math and science curriculum at Edina High School ahead of time. This year, I am participating in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) program. I am taking my classes at the University of Minnesota, including a math class and a physics class from the University’s Institute of Technology honors program. Throughout high school, I have been a member of the Edina Physics Team, and that is how I acquired most of my problem solving skills. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that I had qualified for the 2007 US Physics Team, and I am looking forward to the training camp. I am very excited to meet my amazing teammates and to challenge myself!

In general, I value critical thinking. I like to challenge what other people take for granted. My friends would say that I am reasonable; they turn to me for sound advice. Even when I sense that I am emotionally unstable, my reasonable nature ensures a sound foundation for my actions. I am organized; I like to file old papers, and I make to-do lists when life gets hectic. I am the person my friends turn to when they lose their copy of an assignment because it only takes me a moment to retrieve my copy and scan it for them. I am fluent in spoken and written Polish, and I spend much of each summer in Poland. Next fall, I will go off to college and start a new chapter in my life. Honestly, I don’t know exactly where that will take me, but I do know that I want to do something meaningful with my life.