User:LostInSpace

My name is Amelia Orwant, and I have been a CTYer for 5 years. 3 sessions at Roger Williams baby CTY, 1 session at Lancaster, 1 session at Carlisle, and 4 sessions at Baltimore.

What CTY Means to Me

CTY has been a second home to me for 5 years, 9 sessions, and 12 classes. Each of these CTY memories has been a unique and amazing experience that has helped shape me into the person I am today. I began CTY at Roger Williams in 14.2 taking Science and Engineering (which has now been renamed to Physics and Engineering.) Since then I have been back to Roger Williams, to Carlisle, to Lancaster, and to Baltimore. I was Princess of the Blood at Baltimore 18.2 and will be empress at Baltimore 19.2.

When I began CTY I didn't have that standard story of feeling that I had finally found a place where I belonged. I did, however, find a place where I wanted to belong. My first year after baby CTY at Roger Williams, I double sessioned at Baltimore. When I first arrived, I was nervous and antisocial. I brought a book with me everywhere I went, and I rarely ventured out from behind it. By the end of those 6 weeks, however, I was the outgoing and quirky CTY student that I had always wanted to be. I was gladly friendly and social towards everyone around me, and I was happier in doing so. Ever since then, the Baltimore campus has been special to me. I have tried new sites first session and had a wonderful time experiencing Lancaster and Carlisle, but I always go back to Baltimore second session. In 17.2 I was close friends with Kathlyn who was appointed empress for 18.2, and she appointed me as her Princess of the Blood for 18.2. Although she couldn't make it back for 18.2, I came as the Princess of the Blood along with the Empress Lynne. Together, we fought for traditions at Baltimore, as it has always been the strictest site and traditions have always been difficult. I will be coming back to Baltimore 19.2 as Empress for the last session of my last year.

14.2

14.2 was my first experience of CTY. My dad went to CTY (Carlisle, 1984), and introduced me to the idea of nerd camp when I was 10. I was eager to sign up to this mythical nerd camp, and I went to Roger Williams baby CTY. I signed up for Science and Engineering (now Physics of Engineering.) My roommate, Katya, and I were the only female human beings who signed up for this class, and we were in a class of around 20. Although this reflection of the stigma around women in math based science was upsetting, our class was quite enjoyable. Katya and I were brought closer together by this, and we became great friends. She and I both live in Massachusetts, so we were able to meet up after CTY, and years later I invited her to my bat mitzvah. I was also close friends with Zach and Quinn, two great guys that influenced my first CTY experience for the better. I loved my first time away from home for three weeks, my first time hearing American Pie, and my first time at nerd camp.

Thanks to my RA, Ashley, my instructor, Tina, and my close friends, Katya, Quinn, and Zach. You guys made my first CTY experience a good one!

15.1

15.1, I came back to Roger Williams and took Robotics. Nearly matching the gender ration of my previous year, this class had just 3 female human beings, including myself. By this time, I had become a little less extroverted, but I still enjoyed CTY and made some great friends there. My roommate Maddy was great that year, and I had a wonderful time learning about robotics and enjoying Roger Williams. The dances were especially fun, and Joseppe the pink monkey made an appearance.

Thanks to my RA Carrie who supported me throughout the session and was always kind, to my instructor and TA, and to my roommate Maddy.

15.2

15.2, I took Examining the Evidence, a forensic science course at baby CTY, Roger Williams. It was the first time I had properly experienced double sessioning at CTY, and I ended up getting quite homesick. Since Roger Williams is in Rhode Island, and I live in Massachusetts, I was able to go home for a weekend, but despite that, CTY was great. I wasn't very social at the time, and although I was friendly with many of the people in my class, I didn't make as close friends as I had the previous years or in any of the years to come. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my CTY experience. The course, especially, was a great one. I kept the textbook and read through it many times afterwards to read the fascinating case studies in forensic science. I also enjoyed spending time with Maggie the Maggot, a great friend from that course.

Thanks to my RA, Carrie. She was my RA for both CTY sessions, and really helped make 15.1 and 15.2 great sessions for me. She helped me through homesickness, and was always there for me. Thanks also to my instructor, Natasha for being a great teacher and for introducing us to "whodunnit", which I promptly became addicted to. Thanks also to my entire forensic science class, you guys are great!

16.1

16.1 was my first real year at CTY. I took Fast Paced High School Biology at Baltimore, and I loved the course. It was one of the first classes I had taken where I felt consistently challenged and consistently learning. Over the course of this session, I gained a lot of social confidence as well. I began the session bringing over 20 books with me, and I got through a shocking number of them simply by sitting to the sides and reading whenever anything social happened. Slowly, I was pulled more into the social aspect of CTY, and by the end of the session I was more confident and extroverted than I had been in years.

Thanks to my RA Marina who I first met this session and have become closer to throughout my entire CTY experience. Thanks as well to my entire hall and class, especially, Christine and Anjali, and our instructor and TA, Jordan and Darius.

16.2

16.2 was the second time I had ever double sessioned, and I was shocked that, unlike the previous year, I did not feel homesick. This was probably due to how amazing 16.1 and 16.2 were for me. I took Math Sequence this session, and I got through a large chunk of algebra 2. I had originally taken this course to prepare for a placement test at my school, hoping that I could skip up in math. My school had previously only allowed students to skip two grades at a time, and when I had taken a placement test at the end of sixth grade and missed one concept on the eighth grade final they had not allowed me to skip at all. I signed up for this course with the hope of retaking the placement test, but my school had informed me as the summer began that they no longer allowed students to skip grades. This resulted in some mixed feelings about this course: I was happy to learn math for the sake of learning and I enjoyed it immensely, but the whole time I was worrying about how this would impact my math education during the school year. I ended up homeschooling the next year, and continuing with the book I had used that session. In addition to furthering my academic goals, 16,2 also furthered many of my social goals. Coming into 16.2 I was feeling more confident socially, but still nervous about messing up when talking to new people. Over the course of this session, I became even more social. Despite some hall drama, 16.2 was an amazing session for me. I enthusiastically introduced myself to new people and made many new friends. 2016 CTY, especially 16.2, was one of the first times when I felt I could honestly call myself extroverted. Ever since then, I have come back to Baltimore session 2 to experience the amazing sense of community at the site.

Thanks to my RA, Erica, my hall and class, especially Jessa and Amy. Thanks as well to my instructor and TA, Steve and Olivia, you both helped me further my love of math.

17.1

In 17.1 I tried genetics at Carlisle campus, and after years of Roger Williams and Baltimore, I was able to first experience many of the traditions that aren't present anywhere but Carlisle. When I first walked into my dorm with my dad he immediately recognized it. It turned out that for those three weeks, I stayed in the same building as my dad had stayed in 33 years before. My room was just down the hall from where his had been. The second thing I noticed when I first walked in was our door decorations for that year. My RA had made the incredibly specific theme of "bad cat literature puns" which included my personal favorite, "Harry Pawter". Over the course of this session, I learned not only about genetics, but about the traditions at Carlisle, many of which I have brought back to Baltimore. Notable highlights include "Dickie the chubby mermaid" tattoos, our terrible genetics puns and memes ("PC-are you sure about that?"), the GTCA song (A wonderful remake of YMCA), and of course, Geniverse!

Thanks to my RA, Kate, as well as my instructor and TA and the legend RA Sim. Thanks also to my entire class, especially Lily and Guido.

17.2

In 17.2 I returned to Baltimore