IMANI HALL DUKEUNIVERSITY

Martha?sVineyardismy home,and DukeUniversity ismy homeawayfromhome.I hadthepleasurethis semester of gettingto call athirdplacehome: Copenhagen,Denmark Thisfall,I continuedmy studiesinneuroscienceat DISCopenhagen,Danish Institutefor Study Abroad

I studiedthecognitiveneuroscienceof consciousness,whichwaschallengingbut rewarding Withmy labgroup,wecompleteda researchproject onvisual perceptual thresholdsin visual masking,andsought todeterminetheeffects of visual maskingand stimuli typeimpact response timeandaccuracyonhealthy individuals We presentedour poster andour findingsfor DIS studentsandfaculty,whichwasvery fulfillingafter asemester of researchandlab work

StudyinginEuropethissemester hasprovidedme withalearningfar beyondacademics I madenew lifelongfriendsfromdifferent universities,andgrew toloveanew city,despiteitsbonechilling temperaturesinwinter I wasalsoabletotravel and seepartsof EuropeI hadnot seenbefore,suchas Florencewheremy classhad aweek-longtripto continuestudyingneuroscience

All goodthingscometoanend,but I ameager to returntocampusinthenew year andreunitewith all my friends,continuewithmy studiesof NeuroscienceandChild Policy,work at theCenter for AutismandBrainDevelopment,and dancein DefiningMovement,amongother things.

WhileabroadI havereflectedalot onwhat the concept of homeis.Tome,homeiswhereyoufeel loved,supported,and caredfor.Thank you MVYouthfor beingpart of what makesMartha?s Vineyardhometome,andyour continuoussupport I never takefor grantedtheopportunitiesyouare providingme,it inspiresmedaily tomakethe peopleat homeproud!

Jack Holmes Brown University

How amI ajunior incollege?Timehasbeenflyingby, whichI think isagood thing;it meansI?mhaving fun Alongwithall thisfuntherehasalsobeenalot of work Thislast semester wasespecially hecticand definitelythemost challengingyet AsI begintotake higher level classes,I find thecontent tobemore challengingbut all themoreinteresting aswell I haveenjoyedrisingtothechallengeandcontinueto findmyself investedinmy academics

Asof recently,oneof thebiggest changestomy studieshasbeentheintroductionof computer science I amstill acognitiveneurosciencemajor, but I havebegunfocusingonthefieldof computational methodsthat surround neuroscience Thishasled meto takinganumber of computer sciencecoursesthat areout of my comfort zone. Thistransitionhasof course brought itsownslateof struggles Computer scienceisnot knowntobean easy subject,andlearningto codehasforcedmeto entirelyadapt how I approach my work Despitethis, I feel fortunatetohavehad theopportunity todive intoawholenew areaof study inmy junior year The flexibility tochangemy goalsand pivot innew directionsisanamazingprivilege

Astimegoeson,cominghomefor winter break becomesastranger andstranger experience My friendsandI aregettingolder,movingaway,finding jobs,and many arebeginningtofashionlivesoutside theboundsof Martha?sVineyard.My timeonthe islandisalsonumbered Therewill only besomany morewinter and summer breaksbeforeI beginto start a new chapter of my lifesomewhereelse In thefaceof all this,I amleft feelinggrateful I?m grateful tohavegrownupinsuchawonderful place full of wonderful people MVYouth isapart of this network of support that hasallowedmeand many others topursuetheir hopesanddreams I hopeto alwaysbeapart of thisnetwork myself,supporting thefutureof theisland?syouth.