Week 28: Closing the Chapter

Weekly Report #28 Week 28: (4/13/2026-4/27/2026)

It is quite surreal how quickly the year flies by. I distinctly remember writing in my first weekly report about the ISM etiquette meal that we had at Barney’s Brunch House, how I felt about the various classes that I was partaking in, and overall how excited I was to be enrolled in ISM and having received the opportunity to dive deep into a subject matter that I love. I also remember how distinctly I have changed from the start of the year to now, not only in this class but overall, and I really felt that, though this year has been challenging, I was satisfied with how I persevered. And overall just have a great deal of gratitude, for my mentor of course, Dr. Vanderlei Salvador Bagnato who continuously answered my questions, supported me for my research paper, clarified my ideas, helped me realize where I was wrong and most importantly guide me the in the right direction, without his help my projects, ranging from the chest x-ray classifier to the PDT Simulator to the AI Dosimetry model to the Biophotonics masterclass would not have been possible. I am extremely grateful for his support. Furthermore, I am also extremely grateful for Mr. Ratliff, who set extremely high expectations for me and was sincerely interested in where we were all going. This help kept me focused and pushed me to work harder than necessary to achieve far more than just completing a job. Additionally, thanks to Camila, my ISM-II, who answered my questions, gave examples, and served as a source of support because she had already gone through this process. I moved from Artificial Hearts to Photodynamic therapy. I am just so thankful for everything that I got to learn, the new people, the new activities I got the opportunity to take part in, from the professional symposium to the ISM research showcase to the final night, have all greatly helped me. Though the weekly reports are coming to an end, at least the ones that we are required to do, this process of reflecting on my week, analyzing the pros and the cons, and journaling has been something I have loved doing, and is one of my favorite activities of ISM! It really helped me clarify my thoughts and analyze my personal growth, and I will continue adding it to my website during the summer, even after the school year.

This week, I mostly just worked my video submission for the Red Cross National Youth Council application and spent a large chunk of my time finishing the video which I got finalized on Saturday morning. Furthermore, this time has just been spent navigating various tests while also trying to simultaneously prep for the upcoming AP Exams, with me having a AP Physics C: E&M mock exam and a BC Unit 10 test coming up on Wednesday.

For ISM, I uploaded my ISM final product video on my YouTube page and sent an email to my mentor where I told him everything I have completed and sent him working products along with the necessary documentation to evaluate me, and am awaiting response for that.

Closing this chapter, opening the next.