From Club Founder to Conference Speaker

Yesterday, I had the incredible experience of presenting at the ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Northeast Section Conference in Connecticut. I spoke in the student session—and I was the only high school student there! Everyone else was either an undergraduate or a PhD student, and the audience included professors from many different universities.

My talk was 12 minutes long, followed by a 3-minute Q&A. After I finished, two professors asked me questions. One of them said, “You did a great job outlining creative marketing and fun activities, but could you give some specific examples of how these strategies actually attracted new members? For instance, what aspects of your interactive booth drew people in?”

I explained that I had set up a program on my laptop where students could type in different inputs to get answers—for example, entering two numbers and instantly seeing the greatest common divisor and least common multiple. I also showed a dynamic map of Boston with the distribution of Bluebikes—moving and interactive, instead of just static. These demonstrations caught the attention of a lot of students and got them excited to join.

Another professor jokingly said, “You should invite me to give a talk at your high school club.” I replied right away, “That would be great! Could you give me your email?”

Standing on that stage, presenting alongside undergraduates and PhD students, felt surreal. A few years ago, I never would have imagined myself here—sharing the story of my high school club at a professional conference. It was nerve-wracking, exciting, and unforgettable all at once. This experience showed me that the work I’ve done really matters, and it makes me even more motivated to keep building, learning, and sharing in the future. 🚀