testing room awaiting to see who would win first, second, and third place. After the names of the winners were announced, I was heart broken because I had not made it into by Muthu Chidambaram, Manassas, VA the top three. My dad and I went home, and in a couple of This summer, I had attended the NSF (North South days I forgot all about the competition. Foundation) regional and national One fateful day, my dad called me to come downcompetitions for vocab. When I first stairs from my room and look at the computer. At first I walked into George Mason Univerthought I was in trouble, but when I came downstairs my sity (GMU) in Fairfax, VA, I was dad just told me to read the e-mail he had received. My jaw brimming with excitement. I was fidropped, there written in bold were the names of all the nally going to get a chance to test my finalists, and my name was on the list. However, this bewilsmarts against other Indian kids who dered me because I had not made it into the top three. I shared my thirst for knowledge! I asked my dad why I was on the list, and he explained that I walked slowly inside GMU, admiring had made the cutoff and as I had been one of the younger the college‘s structure, when I reached the sign-up spot. Until then I kids (as I had just entered middle school). I broke into a had been thinking that this competition would be a breeze. huge grin and my face was as radiant as the morning sun. Then I looked around and saw all the other Indians quizUnfortunately, the NSF finals took place in the zing each other, practicing Math and Vocab, and also skim- summer, and I was forced to study during vacation. Finally, ming through pages of notes that they had laboriously the fated time arrived. My family and I drove to Boston, made. I gasped in disbelief! All I had done to study was MA and entered the MIT building looking for the registratake a couple of online tests, do the word power part in tion spot. My dad was especially thrilled about this because Reader‘s Digest magazines, and look up a couple of words! he had always wanted to look inside MIT. Anyways, I Now I was taking deep breaths, and was scared to have to walked into the test taking room calmly, and with an air of match wits with the kids next to me. confidence. I was surprised to see that everyone else was as
The NSF Challenge
Soon the time to begin had arrived, and all the kids marched into the test-taking room for Vocab. Though I looked rather calm, I was actually really tense inside. Next the proctors passed out the Vocab test and we were told to begin. When I looked through the test I was surprised at the words that had been listed. Some were really easy, and others… others were simply words—ones I could never have dreamed of. One particular word I remember quite clearly was the word ―hart‖. Many people marked the definition of ―heart‖ as the answer, but I realized that this could not be. All the other answers looked incorrect too. However, for some reason I marked the answer choice that said, ―male deer‖. I still don‘t know why I picked that answer. Anyways at the end of the test there were some tiebreaker questions that were actually really easy. I finished the test in a short span of ten minutes and walked outside the room quietly. Then I took one glance back, and then dashed toward an online dictionary located on the first floor of the college. Once I got there I quickly searched up the word ―hart‖. The definition came out as a male deer. I read the definition, and then jumped for joy. Through god‘s grace I had actually gotten that question correct! Next, after my fortyminute break was over, I returned to the test taking room for the oral vocab round. Much to my surprise and delight I did wonderful in this round. I got a perfect score of eight out of eight questions correct! I praised my luck for getting words that I had already known. After the round was over I walked out of the room once more with a smug smile on my face to find my dad so that we could eat lunch. After a pleasant lunch, my dad and I once again returned to the
calm as me. The kids around me were all recounting their stories of how they made it to finals. I let my ears wander, and found out that the kids around me were no ordinary kids. Even calling them extraordinary would be an understatement. These kids were the best of the best and now I was among them. The proctor then started explaining the rules which snapped me out of my daydreaming. He then started passing out the vocabulary tests. I quickly finished the test, and walked outside. There I met one of the other kids and we became quick friends. After that he and I explored the campus a bit. Then we headed back to the test room for the oral round. This oral round is what I depended on to improve my score. Unfortunately, it turned out there would only be three oral questions. I got the three questions right, but I knew I wasn‘t going to win. In a little while the results came, and I was not surprised to see I had not made it to the top ten. Anyway I sat down and watched the special round for kids who had made it into the top ten, and it was absolutely amazing. I was exposed to the real world that day. Out of the reach of good old Virginia I felt rather pathetic compared to all the geniuses I had met here. After that my family and I went and explored Harvard, which was also in Boston. Then we retired to our hotel, packed our bags, and departed for home. All in all I would say this experience was amazing, and I would recommend any other kid to enter the NSF contest if they get the chance. Visit www.northsouth.org for more information on the NSF yearly contests.
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