Feels good to get out the ol' green laser pointer again.

This year I have been finding it very difficult to get into classrooms to give presentations about Imaging Science. I think there are a number of factors playing into this: it is a big testing year, plus teachers are being held to increasingly higher standards with evaluations based on student performance. The pressure is on to make every minute of class time count, so who has time to allow for guest speakers? It is my opinion that this is not what is necessarily best for students and their futures, but who am I to say - obviously I have my own reasons for wanting this to be different. Luckily, there are still some big-picture teachers out there who recognize the value in exposing students to different kinds of colleges and careers, so that they can find the appropriate road to success after their time in the K-12 school system is complete.

Our friend Bob (who you may remember from all his invaluable help with the summer interns) invited me to speak to multiple sections of applied, regents, and AP physics students yesterday - all in all, around 125 students! The flip side of being able to see so many classes in one day is that Monday classes are short - only around 40 minutes. So my normal presentation had to be cut down to only include general ImSci information, the thermal camera demo and discussion of applications, and my story of how I became an Imaging Scientist. That's still a ton of information to squeeze into 40 minutes, but I got it to work and came in right on time with every class. Like a boss.

Apparently this student is rather reluctant to come out of her shell normally, so her willing participation in the FLIR demo was a really positive sign. 

Overall I had a great time. The students were very well behaved yet playful, and really got into the thermal camera demos. They exhibited exceptional critical thinking and problem solving, and as usual mouths gaped open when I talked about career placement and starting salaries (which is good - shows they were listening even during the less interactive parts). Before I got back to the office I already had an e-mail from an interested student, and I have since heard that additional students have asked for my contact info. Apparently, everyone is still talking about it, which is awesome. I'm proud to have made such an impression, and grateful for the opportunity to have done so! Bob is convinced that we'll see some applications out of this, either to the intern program or to RIT overall - let's hope he's right ;-)