ANSONIA – Six seniors at Ansonia High School presented a year’s worth of their studies at an international science festival in Seoul, South Korea late last year.
On Nov. 16, the students hopped on a 16-hour flight and then embarked on a full week of learning, both inside and outside the classroom. From the busy streets of Myeongdong Market, to the sophisticated microscopes and telescopes at local high schools, to the historic temples throughout the city, the students said it was an experience they wouldn’t forget.
“We were probably gone from 8:30 (a.m.), to 8:30 at night, every night,” said Amanda Pressley, one of the seniors.
The students were split into two teams – a chemistry team and a biology team – each of which presented a science project they had worked on for about a year. During that year, they collaborated with two other high schools, one in Cheshire and one in South Korea, to give each other feedback as they worked.
The students all said they were thankful to be able to learn through exposure and interaction with another culture. Ezel Arslan, another of the seniors, said it made her want to seek out more study-abroad experiences as she heads into college.
A Year Of Prep
The six students – Amanda, Ezel, Makayla D’Alessio, Lilly Ulrich, Julie-Ana Chambers, and Kasee Discepola – all applied for the program in spring 2024.
From there, they were tasked with developing group research projects to present at the National Science Festival for the Gifted in Seoul.
The chemistry team, consisting of Makayla, Ezel, and Julie-Ana, developed an experiment to see what types of fertilizer lead to greater soil fertility. The biology team, made up of Lilly, Amanda, and Kasee, examined the levels of biodiversity in Ansonia and found it was much greater than in Connecticut as a whole.
Three Ansonia High School science teachers – Kristen Craven, Ashlin Marsh, and Vincent Wynne – aided the students in the research and accompanied them on the trip. In the months leading up, the students also received and gave feedback to student teams from their two partner schools.
The trip is a part of the school district’s partnership with ACES International, a study-abroad agency based in New Haven. Craven said the trip was partially funded through a grant administered by the Ansonia Board of Education. She said the students paid about $1,000 each for the entire trip.
Two other students will travel to China this year through the partnership, Craven said, and a trip to Greece is also in the planning stages.
More Similarities Than Differences, Students Said
For all but one of the seniors, it was their first time out of the country. Two of them had never been on an airplane. But no one described anything resembling culture shock.
For one thing, the Korean students spoke English well, making communication easy. There were also shared interests across oceans, Kasee said, and they were able to bond over shared interests in anime (Japanese animated TV/movies) and K-Pop (Korean pop music).
And – perhaps most importantly – everyone knew how to have fun. Several of the seniors said they were intimidated at first by the Korean students’ academic prowess and the impressive scientific instruments at their schools. But once they were in the same room, they realized that none of them were so different at all.
As an example, Julie-Ana laughed as she remembered a group of Korean boys goofing off during a shared culinary class.
“We were supposed to be breaking up the meat and sauteeing it – they mashed the whole meatball together,” she said.
The students were also nearly unanimous in naming their favorite destination of the trip – the Myeongdong Market. They said the food was a highlight, with options including kimbap – a Korean dish similar to sushi, but with more types of meat – and bibimbap, a rice dish topped with all sorts of meat and vegetables.
Ezel said her favorite spot was the Lotte World Tower: the sixth-tallest building in the world, and taller than any building in the U.S. Students got to ride an elevator 123 floors to the top and stare down through a glass floor at the city below.
Students also made friendship bracelets for each other, handing them over with both hands as is done in Korea.
With Graduation Ahead, Students Inspired
The six seniors returned home on Nov. 23. They all said that the trip left a deep impact on them.
Ezel said the trip has helped shape her college search; she wants to seek out more study-abroad experiences and continue her overseas learning in the future. Julie-Ana, who said she once vowed to never get on an airplane, said the trip made her want to travel more.
The students said they’ve remained friends with their Korean counterparts since the trip, keeping in touch via Instagram and other platforms.
All of the students plan on attending college. Julie-Ana and Amanda have both committed to Quinnipiac University in the fall, they said. The other students are continuing their college searches.