The whole experience was quite remarkable. The science camp is organized by the state of West Virginia; two student delegates are selected from each state (travel and all expenses paid by NYSC), and a broad cross-section of scientists comes to give lectures and seminars.
The atmosphere is informal yet inspirational: day starts with flag-raising
(see picture), and meals are preceeded by someone saying grace (not
necessarily limited to the standard 'Heavenly Father': during my stay,
one delegate chose to read a passage from Feynman .... and everyone listened
silently and attentively). I was very pleased to have come: now there are
two gifted students in each state who know what is it that I am so much
concerned about.
If you are a high school student reading this page for
some reason or other, you may want to consider applying for the next session!