Hi, I’m Tom. I’m a sophomore at Wellesley High School. I joined AARD this past summer, and I’m currently doing research within the nanotechnology field. More specifically, I’m doing nanotechnology detection on PFAS or per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances. These are chemical pollutants that aren’t paid attention to by governments, even though it’s a dangerous, cancer-causing pollutant. For the past couple of months, I’ve been focusing on using nanotechnology to develop a new screening method as there are no official screening methods currently. I’m also planning on doing seasonal detection of PFAS so I can observe how PFAS change with my new testing method. One thing I appreciate about AARD is the creative freedom and independent setting that encourage you to utilize your specific skill sets. In middle school, I found myself really disconnected from the skills I was learning, so I didn’t feel satisfied or fulfilled in pursuing my interests. For example, I didn’t feel excited about learning science because I didn’t have the satisfaction of applying it to help society, which is something that I wanted to do. Speaking about the process, at first, you pick what you want to do, and then you start learning the skills and background information by reading background research papers. It’s the student that’s responsible for their project-related work. The student is doing the data collection. The student is writing the paper draft. Overall, I felt like I was in control the entire time. But that being said, when I was confused or needed help, my mentors were always easily reachable by email or Zoom to help me with my problems. Because of that, I felt confident stepping outside my comfort zone. All in all, the control I have over my project and readily available guidance both made my experience at AARD enjoyable. So far, AARD has been helpful in my development as a scientist, and I would recommend any student interested in STEM to give it a try.