Vincentian student impresses STEM panel in Canada
LOCAL SCHOLAR, Nailah Jack was last month part of a group of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students from the Caribbean and Canada to impress a Canadian panel with an underwater density filter.
From July 7 to 12 Jack was in Halifax, Nova Scotia at Dalhousie University where she took part in Future Universal Navigators (FUN) Summer Camp: Young, Gifted, and Black Future Physicists (YGBFP), an initiative by Imhotep’s Legacy Academy. Explaining how she landed the fully funded opportunity (a full scholarship, including flight and accommodation for one parent), Jack said initially she applied for an initiative in Barbados called “SPISE”.
SPISE is five weeks of total immersion in university-level calculus, physics, biochemistry, computer programming, entrepreneurship, and hands-on projects in robotics and/or electronics/renewable energy. Instructors in SPISE are university professors from the Region and the Diaspora (including MIT).
Jack said the SPISE application is a rigorous process that involved her submitting four essays.
“However, I was not selected, and they suggested that I apply to the physics programme in Nova Scotia,” Jack explained, while noting that she was chosen for the Canadian Summer camp.
“The experience was very rewarding as I was able to travel to Nova Scotia and learn more about Physics amongst like-minded individuals,” the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) student who will be starting her second year in September told SEARCHLIGHT.
She said 26 persons took part, 20 students from Nova Scotia, two from Toronto, two from Vancouver and two from the Caribbean (Jack and Kenneth Walcott from Barbados who attends Harrison college).
While in Nova Scotia, the students attended Physics and Mathematics lectures, and toured the physics lab at Dalhousie University.
“I would say that this programme was helpful as it allowed me to gain exposure to different areas of the STEM field,” Jack said, while noting that during the camp, they were put into groups of five and each group had to come up with a STEM-based solution to a specific problem in the world.
“We had to put together a presentation and create a prototype of the product that we had in mind, so we decided to create a solution to oil spills which was an underwater density filter.”
Jack said unfortunately, they were not able to create the prototype as they had limited time.
“It was well received.We were commended for our innovative design,” she related to SEARCHLIGHT, adding that she plans to pursue a career in radiology/ pathology, and is aiming for an Island Scholarship to attend university in Canada.
Last year, Jack, as a student of the St Vincent Girls’ High School (GHS), was the nation’s top female performer in the CXC/CSEC.
She is currently pursuing Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Computer Science at the SVGCC.
Jack is a member of the Intellective Collective Club, which comprises students who are interested in science at the SVGCC. She is also a member of the ISCCF (Inter School and College Christian Fellowship) group.
The aspiring scientist is the daughter of Keyon and Tisha Allen-Jack of Dorsetshire Hill.
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