COSMOS Student Profile Archive

GEORGE QUIÑONEZ
HighTech High School,
Los Angeles County
11th grade

UC Irvine COSMOS 2005
Participated in the Bioinformatics & the Magic of Discrete Mathematics Cluster

COSMOS is one of the best things that happened to me in my life. I cannot compare the summer program that I experienced at UC Irvine to anything else. It's so much more than just a strong academic program; I don't think I can describe my feelings in words it just has to be experienced. I wish there was a way all high school students could experience COSMOS.

I met some of the most intelligent, friendly, kind and overall amazing people in all of California at COSMOS. I met students from cities bordering Oregon to cities bordering Mexico. I was shocked to see how much in common I had with these people even though they were from places I had never known.

Something really unexpected happened to me on the first day of COSMOS, which I still can't really comprehend. I found it strange to go somewhere where I had never been with people I had never met and make 50 friends within a few hours. Experiencing an environment like the one at COSMOS made me see the good in our world and it opened my eyes to see the better things in life. I wish all schools and places were like COSMOS because great things can be done when there is so much learning, interaction and cooperation amongst people.

Added to my academic success this summer, at the end of the program, I was awarded the $4,000 COSMOS - CHELA Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Leadership. I believe I was awarded this scholarship because I did I everything I could to make my experience at COSMOS the best learning opportunity. The knowledge I gained at COSMOS is something I can use every day. The regular conversations I had with experienced professors and mentors have influenced me and my future choices immensely. Before attending this program, I wanted to go into the field of technology or engineering, but I found biology to be absolutely fascinating. I will do more research over this coming year to determine my interests because of the classes I took at COSMOS.

I am so excited about going to a four year university after this experience because I see how fulfilling it can be to do research in a field of your interest. Although I am very excited, I know my family is even more excited because they have been waiting for me to go to college for 18 years! I will be the first in my family to attend a four-year college.

I want to thank you for creating and maintaining the funding for this program. COSMOS changed my life and I owe so much to everyone who was a part of that experience.

Sincerely,
George Quiñonez