Although possessed of a smoldering interest in geology from a young age, Phillip Szymcek admits that he was not a hot science student in middle school and that his participation in the Southern Illinois Junior Science and Humanities Symposium during high school was actually his first out-of-class science experience.
He attended the National JSHS in Washington, DC in 2000, but did not present his research on non-invasive geophysical remote sensing. This spark, however, has fully caught fire in college, reports Linda Martin, JSHS Southern Illinois Regional Director who continues to follow his progress.

Phillip carried out fossil foraminifera research during his freshman year and the summer following for Dr. Scott Ishman, micropaleontologist at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Last fall he presented a poster on his research with these single-celled sea creatures at the Geological Society of America's meeting in Boston through an undergraduate grant from the Office of Research Development at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. With the first phase of the project completed, Phillip will move from defining the modern distributions of foraminifera with the former Larsen Ice Shelf-A and the Prince Gustav Channel to original research analyzing 10,000-year-old data from a 38-meter core. We look forward to hearing about the sparks generated from this valuable work.

Allison Cobb, Research and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (REAP), apprentice in 1993 and 1994, who recently received a promotion to territory manager at Hormel Foods, her first employer, attributes much of her drive, direction and interest in the food industry to those two summers spent working at the University of Illinois Food Science Department under REAP mentor Dr. Shelly Schmidt.
Allison's interest in science and business as a high school student led to a B.S. with honors in food service and human nutrition at the University of Illinois followed by a M.S. in food services with a specialization in food marketing at Michigan State University. She began at Hormel a month after graduation and got the promotion less than a year later. Allison is on the way toward her goal of being a product manager in food marketing.
In addition, Allison has volunteered to assist in the development of a REAP alumni network similar to the one which has been launched for the former participants of JSHS. Allison believes her REAP summer apprenticeship experience has shaped her goals and career and she wants to give back to the program.
Hold that thought, Allison, because while 2001 was the year to begin the JSHS Alumni Network, 2002 is the year to reach out to REAP alums and we will need your help and the help of many others to be successful.