Page 23 - FIS World October 2018

16 students stayed on campus the whole time. We worked from Monday to Friday, and Saturday half day. The whole program was geared toward a big debating event on the last day where we competed in trying to be better at shooting holes in the arguments of our opponents rather than the other way around. This was my favorite part. During the free time outings I also met students participating in other programs. All in all, I had
a really enjoyable time. I made new friends, and campus life came with more freedom than
I expected. At FIS, I joined the debating club and I certainly want to do a program again next summer.”
Nikita, Russian, Grade 12:
Internship at Epic Aircraft, Oregon, USA
“Through a personal reference, I entered a two- week internship program at Epic Aircraft. Epic builds small turboprop airplanes, and I wanted to join that company as my future intention is to study aerospace engineering. Initial discussions revealed how certain software would be helpful in preliminary tests to ensure that a new airplane design could pass governmental regulations.
I then developed the Java code that was able to execute the stress analysis on a cross-section of an airplane fuselage. I had a great time and found it really powerful that I could apply what I had learned in Physics and Computer Science at FIS
in understanding the physical phenomena and developing the code.
Overall, I spent the majority of my time on assuring my model produced correct predictions based on experimental data and on making the code run more efficiently. The time I spent with co-workers at the end explaining the functionality of my model was another valuable experience. Feedback was that my model provides accurate results, and I find it rewarding that my code is now being used by Epic as part of their preliminary analysis process.”
Niamh, Irish, Grade 12:
Hiking The Camino de Santiago, France/Spain
“People who walk the Camino tend to be a bit older than I am, and do it as a spiritual experience or as
a means to deal with a certain phase in their life.
I actually wanted to participate because of the physical challenge. My family members are all excellent athletes, so could I be one myself? I had heard about the 800 kilometer Camino hike, and my friend Emma Richardson (FIS Grade 12 student) and I decided to walk the most demanding 200 kilometer distance through the Pyrenees, from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Portin (France) to Nájera (Spain) in ten days.
We had prepared ourselves well with proper shoes, extensive muscle training and by going out for
increasingly longer hikes since January. Physically it was tough, but we made it. Nature was just beautiful. The biggest take away for me though resulted from the people we met while hiking, having joint dinners and staying at the same hostels. People’s backgrounds, experiences and perspectives on life were so much more varied and different than I had come across so far.
I returned home appreciating little things more than I did before, and being able to better put things in perspective, like the IB exams this year, a truly great feeling.”
Corrie Korink-Zoetekouw
FIS Parent
Just a few of the many students who extended their learning over the summer, (clockwise from lower left) Michael, Marcus, Nikita, Niamh
October 2018 FIS World 21