The Day Before Independence Day

The Acid Test

Finally the day of reckoning has come.  The day to shine and make impression has finally arrived for these students.  The spotlight will be on them and when all introductions and featured presentation commence, their moment to let the whole delegation from all over the US and names known in the world of science listen to their voice. 

Two months ago, they were perplexed by the idea that their experiment proposal was chosen as one of the top three community finalist out of a hundred and plus experiment proposals submitted.  Although their experiment was not chosen as a flight experiment, the review given by the SSEP panels contained really encouraging positive feedbacks and great pointers that encouraged them even more to do even better next time.  There's nothing to get sad about because the news of flying to Washington DC to showcase their proposed experiment at the National Conference came at about the same time.  A month ago, they were back to school while other students were already enjoying their time away from school.  They have to come back and spend hours of practice perfecting their presentation and performing the experiment they have designed.

The days of preparation are over and their moment has come.  The decision is now in their hands; to shine and let the nation know what they are made of or to crumble under pressure and feel small.  This is what all the preparation has come down to.