Claes Nobel presents scholarship to Shannon Babb
Address to NSHSS Members
University of California, Santa Barbara
March 3, 2007
Shannon Babb, Claes Nobel Academic Scholarship Recipient
Utah State University
From Utah to Stockholm - Persevere!
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a scientist. At first, I thought I would become a paleontologist, but after spending countless hours digging in my backyard and only finding rocks, I thought maybe I needed to rethink my career decision. So in third grade, I thought maybe I should become a geologist because I knew that I was really good at finding rocks!
When I was 13, I was introduced to water quality. I started small. My first project was a simple one-time study looking at the rivers flowing into and out of Utah Lake to see which was the most polluted. I took some basic chemical tests and looked at the physical aspects of the river. The next year I followed up with a six-month study looking at the biological aspects of the same four rivers. The following year I performed a six-month longitudinal study of the Spanish Fork River, which was the most polluted river in my previous two studies. I looked at the chemical, physical, and biological aspects and searched for sources of pollution at seven sites along the river’s length, trying to understand how humans were affecting water quality. Phase Four of my project was a twelve-month water quality study of a newly-erupted sulfur spring and its longitudinal effect on Diamond Fork Creek, which is a tributary to the Spanish Fork River.
This research led to my winning first place the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair. Among the honors I received was the Seaborg International Youth Science Seminar Award, which included a trip to Stockholm, Sweden, to attend the Nobel Prize festivities. This past December I traveled to Sweden, along with 23 of the top high school science students in the world, and attended the Nobel lectures. I even presented my water quality research in the same hall where the Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and physics are announced! It was an amazing experience, one I will never forget.
My own experience has taught me: never give up! I met quite a bit of discouragement along the way but persisted. I would like to share three points that have worked for me:
- Find something you are passionate about--you will make mistakes but you will get better as you learn from your mistakes.
- Get involved in the academic community around you. Connect with teachers, organizations, and professors from local colleges who are experts in the fields you care about. You will find many of them more than happy to pass on their advice.
- When someone tells you something is impossible or that no one cares about your ideas, dreams, or projects, that’s when you need to put the most energy into them.
Best of luck to you all,
Shannon Babb