With MYC over and everyone still a bit sad that it ended, I decided to ask everyone if they had any advice for future applicants and campers. If you're reading this and hoping to apply, you're probably a dedicated individual, and we really want you to be able to have an amazing experience like we did this year. I didn't get too many responses to my tip request, but here are my own tips plus what I got from others. All of the ones without a name are me. 

Applying:

•  In all stages of application, be natural. Write in a simple, concrete way. Communicate your ideas coherently. In the interview, just remember what your second stage project is about. - Francisco M.
• For the first round application, reflect on what events have really contributed to your scientific/mathematical growth and what events/awards have really demonstrated your ability. Those will probably be good things to mention in your application.
• Don't procrastinate on the second round application; put time aside, even if it means taking time away from other  activities. You're in the top 20, so you have a good chance at making it into the camp if you do well.
• Be yourself. This is very related to what Francisco said. 

Just work hard and put effort in what you're doing, because it really pays off in the end (and this applies not only to science programs).

Overview
Overall, this camp exceeded my expectations. It was some of the most amazing days of my life. I think the best part of the camp was really the people you met and what you did with them. The friends I've made at this camp were terrific and the staff itself were also terrific. We got to meet representatives from companies, experts in our group fields, the first female president of Finland, teenagers from all around the world, and other amazing people.

During this camp I've:
-chased ducks 
-used AutoGis software,
- played in a moonbounce like a kid,
- tried and failed to roll my Rs, 
-hung out with amazing people, 
-went on a ferry ride,
-Tried a Finnish Sauna (its amazing)
- ran around the University of Helsinki (Amazing Science Race), 
-constructed a raft
-Tried and spat out the Finnish "candy" salmiaki
-Sat around at a camp fire
-Co-Presented the Urban Planning proposal
-Drunk obscene amounts of coffee
-Met with amazing experts
-Ran around Helsinki and tried out their trams and their metro stations (much cleaner than here in DC)
-Danced, flirted, and laughed 
-Taken too many pictures
-Dreaded leaving Finland
-So much more...



 If anyone is following or reading this blog and would like even more information, feel free to email me, Akila Prayaga, or just comment on any of the blog posts, and we'll be sure to reply back! This camp truly was amazing. Not only has it made me more interested in being a guide next year so I can come back, it has also made me more interested in Finland and studying here in this country. It's absolutely lovely. 

Photos

I set up a group photobucket account which you can check out over here: PhotoBucket

Other campers also documented their experience, and you can check out their Flickr pages over here:
Francisco's Flickr
Eidman's Flickr


Other Blogs
Check out some of the camper's own blog posts about the camp over here:

Anna's Blog Post
Bokyong's Blog Post



Thank you so much for this experience, Millennium Youth Camp. It's been one of the best in my life.

-Akila Prayaga

Hey everyone,
As some of you may know if you have researched the camp, Millennium Youth Camp has some official media outlets. We had a fantastic media team as a part of our MYC family during the camp, and you should really check out what they have done. Here are some links:

MyScience - A publication of the University of Helsinki that posts on science topics for youth and also covers the camp with blog posts and videos.

LUMA Center Finland on Flickr - Amazing photos from the camp on the Flickr page for one of the camp sponsors.

MYC Facebook Page - Keep up with Millennium Youth Camp on Facebook! Also includes some pictures from the camp.

I decided to break my tradition of writing nightly about the day's events to hang out with everyone before leaving. I mean, only a limited time to see them and such a long time on a plane with not much better to do than write...

Yesterday was Helsinki Day, which I had been looking forward to since getting the schedule. Because who doesn't want to get to see a really awesome city?

In the morning, we boarded the buses and took off. Once we arrived, we had a wonderful tour inside the bus that allowed us to at least get a glimpse at most of the major landmarks of the city. That includes THE SIBELIUS MONUMENT!!! (For anyone who doesn't know, he's a famous composer. Go listen to Finlandia.) Then, we had a short amount of time to sight-see with our groups. We got to check out another part of the University of Helsinki and some of the nice parks and statues.







Lots of water, lots of trees. I like it.


Next, everyone took a short ferry ride to Suomenlinna. It's an island (actually multiple islands), which probably doesn't tell you much since Finland has a lot of islands. Only a ten minute ferry ride away, it's a picturesque island with an old fortress on it. Rather than just sight-see, we did an Amazing Race around the island. Yep, another race. Groups raced to complete various tasks that took them by major sites on the island such as the church. While my team did not win, we really enjoyed it. Plus, there was a little rain!





Playing soccer after finishing the race.


After a short lunch, we returned to Helsinki and had time to do a little more in the city. Team Applied Mathematics joined forces with Urban Planning and bought souvenirs, went to a grocery store to get some food (where food = candy), and just walked around the city.

If you ask me, the weather was nice and the scenery was absolutely wonderful. There was no way we could have covered all of Helsinki in such a short amount of time, but I'm glad we at least got a glance at everything.

After returning, there was a Closing Ceremony * cue sadness *. Everyone received some formal awards, some nice pictures, and some nice informal gifts from their group guides. The guides made nice speeches for their groups, and it made many people teary-eyed. How sad that everything is ending! The group work over, the guides no longer our daily companions! There was a camper speech done by Sruthi and Zhilin, which was great as well. I could give more details about the whole thing, but I don't want to ruin the surprises for future campers.




Campers and Guides hanging out. I actually don't know when this was taken, but I don't have pictures of the closing ceremony yet and I needed something to put here.

Afterwards, the formal schedule of the camp was over and the "after party" began! Everyone had lots of fun, said lots of goodbyes, and gave lots of hugs. Some people, particularly those with early flights (myself included), pulled an all-nighter.

Special thanks to everyone who was a part of this camp - campers, guides, organizers, media team, behind-the-scenes people, and so on. I won't mention names here, but these people know who they are. Our amazing experience would not have been possible without all of these wonderful people.

The big day! Still half asleep after staying up late the previous night, campers go to the 8:00 breakfast. Many drink coffee, perhaps to wake them up. Guides are wandering the halls trying to find campers who are still sleeping to wake them up.

Then, at 9:00 everyone gathers in the conference room. We learn a little about Stuart Parkin, winner of the 2014 Millennium Technology Prize, and hear about the fancy gala they had to award the prize since some people at the camp were there.

Okay enough of this present tense thing. After that we had free time. Some groups had to use it to prepare for the presentation, but most (including mine) were done. Guides offered activities from singing to frisbee for the morning. I went on a great walk in the forest around the hotel grounds and got to learn a little about the flours and plants. Then, I did some singing with another small group of people.

Welcome!

So then lunch, then a little free time, then preparation for the Gala. the MYC Gala is the culmunation of all of the project work from the past two months. Every group gives a brief presentation to an audience, then people walk around to groups' posters and talk to them more.

Everyone got all dressed up, and we went to take group pictures in front of the manor (to be fancy, of course). Everyone was taking pictures with each other and it was great even for people who aren't to big on pictures. After that, ot was off on the bus. It was somewhat amusing to see all of these people dressed in suits and dresses having juice boxes and sack lunches on the way to Helsinki, where the event was held.

Anna, Akila, Polina, and Ege. Many campers took selfies before leaving for the gala. Photo by Akila.

After a brief rehersal and break, the event began. All of the group experts came as well as others from TAF, LUMA, etc. There were even a few ambassadors. First there were a few opening speeches, then the groups each got their presentation time. First, the group expert(s) went up and spoke briefly about the group and their work, then the group came up and did their presentation (anout 3 min). Since they used alphabetical order, Team Applied Math had (got?) to go first.

Team Renewable Resources presents at the Gala. L-R: Bokyong, Lieven, Christian, Ramon, Neja, Iulia

\In the group, only 2-3 people,were supposed to present. For us, it was Matan and I. It was a success, I'd say, especially considering how many people visited our poster. After five groups, three talented campers played some music, and we finished all of the presentations. All of them were fantastic. Afterwords, there was food and time to talk about our projects with others and, or course, finally see the other groups' work. I ended up spending most of the time at our project talking, but it was fantastic. We took plenty of pictures with our experts and said goodbye. It was somewhat sad to say goodbye to two really wonderful and helpful people so soon. However, if was amazing to meet them in the first place. They're super cool.

Team Applied Mathematics at the Gala! L-R: Daniel, David, Jordan (me), Matan, Hrant. Photo Cred: LUMA Center.

So at last, the day came to a close. We got back to our hotel at almost 10:00. with all of our hard work done, we were rewarded with a dance party until 11:50 (normally we are supposed to be in our rooms by 11:00, so this was cool).

The whole thing was totally worth it - from applying to the pre-camp work to the 15+ hours of work during camp. The Gala was truly a celebration of all of that work, all of the things we have done in Finland, al, of the people we have met, and all of the friendships we have forged.

Thanks to all of the sponsors, mentors, camp staff, and everyone else who made MYC possible for us!

Trees. Trees everywhere.

Today was probably the most laid back day of Millennium Youth Camp. We finished up the projects with five or six work hours. Every group created a poster to present at the Gala tomorrow. And I mean the really cool posters that are done on PowerPoint and printed put on really large paper. I love designing those posters, but the combination of the format we wee using and the computers we had made it really tedious, as almost every time we tried to do something the entire text of the poster would just disappear. Finally, we managed to find a solution, and the poster looks great! 

Food Team working hard on their project. Photo Cred: Noora

The Applied Math group is often said to have the coolest project, but I think that's only because we have a whole board game to show off at the gala. We got the board printed out on large paper and glued it to some relatively nice cardboard (we even recycled in the making of the game! So true to the idea of the game). We also got the game pices printed, but something happend and they printed out way too large to be used with the board so we improvised (since we didn't have a color printer) and just used black and white pieces. I was unsure at first (we all were), but it all turned out really nice in the end. Daniel, with the help of one of our guides, Victor, made a program for randomizing the setup of the game (placement of the trash, etc.). It all came together without us having to skip out on other activities, which was nice. 

Also today were the jump pictures. Here, Team Materials Science jumps. Photo Credit: LUMA Center.

Tomorrow is the MYC 2014 Gala, where all of the groups get to present their projects to the whole camp as well as others. From what I heard, some ambassadors came last year. The whole thing begins with each group making a brief presentation, which we prepared today. I am one of my group's two speakers, whoch we actually decided a long time ago bu was really ultimately a given since the plan was to have one girl and one boy present in the group and I'm the only girl (the other couldn't come to camp). 

Camp Staff jump picture. Thanks to all of these amazing people for making this camp possible! Photo Credit: LUMA Center.

Besides group work, there was a presentation by a brainer (brain trainer, yes), Q&A with former campers studying in Finland (including both Applied Math guides), and sauna. Let me tell you, I was slightly skeptical of the whole sauna thing at first, but it was actually really great. Having left my room at 7:00, I didn't return until 9:30. Wrapped up the day with evening snack and some singing (including Counting Stars by OneRepublic!). 

It's hard to believe that only there are only two days left of camp. At the same time, it feels like we have been here longer than we have since we have been so busy. It will of course be sad to leave all of the wonderful people at camp and to leave this beautiful place. I'm sure all of us campers will stay in touch though, and it will be exciting to tell everyone back home about the whole experience. 

Wish us all luck at the Gala!

Finland is green.

Everything is green; trees and other plants are everywhere. Seriously, in the middle of the city there will just be something that looks like a forest. Not to mention all of the water. It seems like we are always passing by natural bodies of water on our drives. It's absolutely wonderful if you ask me.

Today the most relaxed camp day so far, we had plenty of opportunities to enjoy the Finnish nature. After the morning project work, we had a forest adventure at a very cool place called Seikkailulaakso. Ten times composed of both campers and staff competed against each other in five different outdoor challenges. For me, archery was the highlight, because I actually wasn't horrible (with some verbal advice), and bows are awesome. Since we were put into groups somewhat randomly, this event was a great way to get to know other campers and to work together on fun tasks.

Adventure awaits!

After dinner, we had something I have been looking forward to for whatever reason - the campfire! We played some nonsensical games (they were quite fun) and then began. There was (of course) singing, and then we were able to have food!

Campers enjoy the fire.

And it wasn't marshmallows (at first). We started with dough. Yes, dough. Campers wrapped long pieces of dough around (actual) sticks and positioned it carfully over the fire to cook...or bake I guess. It was seriously way better than marshmallows or even s'mores. When the marshmallows arrived, I didn't even bother. I will definitely be making dough for my next campfie back home.

Also this evening was the first sauna and swimming day. Half of the camp went today, and I was not part of that half, which was totally okay to me because it meant more fire time. While others were in the sauna, we also played a cool but hard Finnish game. I went on a walk around the hotel area (which, yes, is very forest-y) and took some pictures, but unfortunately was finally caught by the great Finnish menace...

Not where I walked to, but still in Finland.

...mosquitos. I had only been bitten once before today, but on that walk I got some large, itchy bites. Many campers have also been bitten a lot, many more than me. So future campers, be prepared. They show no mercy.

Finland has a great natural environment that is a sure bonus of MYC. It's a great week of fresh air and trees in addition to all of the other great things. Definitely a great place to spend summer.

Another busy day at MYC - visiting Aalto University, going on multiple tours, project work, and, last but not least, International Night, Part 2.

This event is a celebration of, well, different countries (surprise). At International Night, MY Campers got to learn a little bit about all of the other countries from which there are participants. The camp is so diverse that the event was divided into two nights with approximately two hours each night.

The many Brazilian campers talk about their country.

Some campers had speaking-based presentations. They gave facts, read stories, read poems, and often showed pictures in the backgroung to illustrate. Another common supplement to talking was video - sometimes a general overview of the country and sometimes a specific aspect of the country (for example, did you know that in Spain there is an event where people make human towers...with little kids on top? Me niether, until we saw a video of it).

Others went for songs, which also sometimes were supplements. Sometimes this even included singing along.

Dance was hugely popular at International Night. Some people dressed in traditional costume and performed; others invited everyone to join in dance. It was really fun to be able to get up and move even if I was confused and unsure of what to do at some times...I am somewhat uncoordinated when it comes to dancing.

Turkish dance!

Some countries passed out small gifts...yes, free stuff, often in the form of candy. I ate so much chocolate tonight (and yet this was also the first night that I was hungry for the 10:00 pm snack...), and it was all great! Postcards were also common gifts (my personal choice, which works well for the US).

In true American style, the USA group procrastinated on the presentation. We ended up deciding that it was to hard to do something (insert deep, unemotional voice here) very serious and partiotic, so we just did some jokes and talked about stereotypes. I have some personal issues with stereotypes because the way we think categorically tends to lead us to use stereotypes to put people in little boxes, but it was all done lightheartedly and we mentioned that many of the stereotypes are not true of everybody. :-P

To all future campers, some advice: Try not to procrastinate. I know it's hard. Many campers had exams right before the camp and had little free time, and every day of camp is packed practically from beginning to end, so there is not much time to work with the others from your country. We were not the only ones working at/right after dinner the day of the presentation. But really do try to take a little time before camp to communicate with the others from your country and decide what to do. This will enable you to bring any treats, clothes, or other special items from home for the presentation. Also, don't stress - as a camp guide told me and I discovered for myself today, you might be sort of worried or anxious before the presentaion but it turns out totally fine when you actually do it.


Tomorrow will be somewhat more relaxing for us campers - breakfast is an hour later since we are not leaving early for any tours/university visits, we have project work time in the morning, but then a bunch of non-academic activities after that, which should be tons of fun and a great way to relax after all of the project work we have been doing the past few days.

P.S. Coming soon: Pictures! My tablet unfortunately will not allow me to upload unless I download an app, which is not happening. When I get home I plan on adding some of my pictures to these posts to make them more colorful.

Today, the teams of MYC went their separate ways to visit companies related to their subject area. From what I have gathered, all of the groups really enjoyed themselves and learned something interesting.

The Applied Math team had one of the most well-known companies of the bunch - Rovio. Yes, they are the makers of Angry Birds. Yes, their building is decked out in Angry Birds, at least in some parts. It was pretty awesome.

Because Rovio.

Wait, how does this have to do with math? Well, there are definite connections in the physics and programming dimensions of game design. While we did not get into the technicalities of game design, we did discuss these connections some; for example, the use of a physics solver, vectors and matrices to describe position and movement, and making more efficient algorithms.

We also learned about Rovio as a company. I was surprised to learn that Rovio had many games before Angry Birds and that they are expanding into education to make learning fun for children.

Right before our wonderful lunch, we got to discuss our project with a programmer from Rovio. It was great to hear all of his suggestions, even though we did not end up taking all of them. After feeling slightly bad about not trying to do a computer game, it was nice to know that they also often start with board games and other physical models.

Team Applied Mathematics at Rovio. L-R: Victor (guide), Jordan (me), Daniel, Hrant, Matan, Peter Vesterbacka of Rovio, Nidia (guide), David, Professor Samuli Siltanen (group expert), Ms. Zenith Purisha (group expert) Photo Credit: LUMA Center

At the end, they gave us wonderful gift bags with fun Angry Birds stuff and we took pictures in the showroom before heading back to the University of Helsinki for about four hours of intense project work.

As suggested during our company visit, we began with a very simple game and simply tried it - just like we often do with mathematical models. Yep, that mathematical connection. :) Soon, we were thinking of more complex versions. By the end, everyone had some of their own opinions on various aspects of the game such as scoring, cards, and trash (re)distribution and we were constantly discussing. In fact, we began a game that was never finished - we only got through two or three rounds in twenty minutes - because we were discussing so much!

Prototyping with the help of pieces from existing games. Photo Credit: LUMA Center.

At 17:00 (oh how I love using the 24-hour system. I'm not joking, everyone back home thinks I am strange) we headed back to our hotel for dinner and then the first part of International Night.

For any potential future campers, he company visits are incredible for all of the groups. Like I mentioned, everyone seemed to have a blast and learn a lot. Everyone seems even more excited about making their projects the best they can be for the Gala!

• We had an opening ceremony at university of Helsinki. This included President Tarja Halonen's speech, a song played only by using laboratory equipment and lot of different people who support the camp. Also, we had an opportunity to ask our experts some questions about sustainable development.
• We have experienced first hours of project work. Urban planning group is designing a campus for Aalto University so we were told some facts about Helsinki in terms of urban planning and we have created our own maps concerning population distribution and transport.
• There was this "Amazing Tiring Race of Science", as named by my group member Polina. Basically, it was just bunch of campers running around and getting lost (well, at least we did). Not kidding, it was pretty easy to get lost in the University and some of the tasks we had to perform were rather difficult. Shout out to Matthew for his biology knowledge and Akila for her plane throwing skills. We would fail without you. (Forget about the balloon horror.)
• StartUp Sauna. Jordan already talked about that so go on and read his article.
• After we returned to the camp, we went exploring a bit. The nature around hotel is really beautiful - lots of flowers, lots of trees, lots of grass. It is nice to wander around and take some pictures - but beware of mosquitos; these monsters are everywhere, especially near the water.

Day 2 of camp was full of activities - an incredible opening ceremony, project work, the Amazing Race of Science, and Startup Sauna. Since it is almost midnight here and we have to be at breakfast at 7:00, I'll just talk about the last of these, which probably is the strangest sounding of them all.

I'll just be honest and say sthat I thought that Startup Sauna was an actual sauna at first, which made me really confused as to why we had to drive to Aalto University for it. As I found out on the bus ride there, Startup Sauna is actually a program to encourage entrepreneurship in Finland. They take applications from people all around the world with unique ideas for startup companies and choose just a few (there were 17 teams this time) to come to Finland to receive mentorship. 

We were there for the "graduation" of the teams, where they each presented their startup in an exciting manner. There was so much enthusiasm that it was more like a party, even when we were listening to seventeen presentations straight (I'm not even joking). It was even more like a party afterwords, when MY Campers enjoyed the bounce house (yes, they had one). Every presenter was amazing at being enthusiastic and effectively pitching their idea. The ideas were really diverse and ranged from improved voice recognition to a better way to keep house plants fertilized.

Personally, I have never been that into entrepreneurship before, but this gave me a really good idea of what considerations there are in starting a company. This even really highlighted one of the things that makes MY Camp a unique science camp - it also covers the business/industry side of science. Even if you just want to go into a research position at a university, it is really useful and interesting experience. Another great example of this is tomorrow's day-long event, where each group visits their sponsor. or the Applied Math team, that means Rovio! So excited! 

(As a side note, for anyone who read my last post, I received my bag this evening! Shout out to the camp staff for being very helpful with that situation. Advice to future campers: The staff members are amazing, you can talk to them about anything, so do it! :) 

It's 11:25 pm here in Finland as I begin to write this. It's been a long day...or perhaps more than a day, one of those days that seems to linger on forever with no distinct end...a travel day.
I was up at 6:30 am back at home in the US to catch my first flight. My packing was a combination of just absentmindedly throwing stuff into bags and reluctance, stuffing my carry-on backpack with a spare change of clothes (because, you never know...) and tossing in two battery pack chargers that my dad bought me "just in case" I has trouble with the converter.

Funny to think that at that time, we had no idea.

I check my large luggage all the way through to Helsinki and got to the gate for my first flight (Chicago). Five minutes after I get comfortable, a gate change to the other side of the terminal. And that side of the terminal was PACKED. Then a flight delay. Thirty minutes to takeoff, no boarding...twenty, still none, ten, nope...at five minutes: "Ok time for priority boarding..." I look at my ticket and see that there is no seat number. Confused, I go to the desk. They don't have a seat for me, the flight's 100 percent full, and I have a tight connection in Chicago. Just the delay we were having with boarding is getting me worried. Fortunately, a volunteer gives up her seat for me. Totally grateful, I get on.

Flight goes okay, I break open my girl scout cookies (the lemon ones). Arrive in Chicago, somehow on time, but biggest airport ever. Keep following the signs, take some sketchy paths to find the trail to my terminal. Go to kiosk, it fails. Go to desk. "Did you check a bag?" "Yes" "May I see the tag" I hand it to her, she gives it back. I get my ticket.

Security, not too bad. Finally find the gate, we're boarding already. Get on, it's a nice plane. They're talking in Swedish...at least I think. But they also speak in English. We take off. Everything is going okay.

Long flight. Just when I think it's almost over it turns out I was looking at the time wrong or calculating wrong. I try to sleep, it works for a little.  After eating a few crackers at the beginning of the flight, my stomach doesn't feel good. The smell of the food bothers me. I don't touch either meal they hand out, but I don't feel hungry. I get myself to drink water. I listen to my uplifting music and it keeps me feeling okay...in fact, great. Everything will work out right, I'm going to be there soon.

Stockholm. Ever tried explaining a weeklong camp to the guy asking your purpose for being there? Passport stamped, I get into a security line. It's long, just one scanner. As soon as I get through I make my way to the gate. Easy to find, but once again I get there and they're boarding. Everyone is dressed in suits. Get on, only an hour flight. Still not hungry, listen to music. Challenges over, right? Just get off a plane, get my bags, meet the camp people.

Get off, check. Baggage claim, check. I wait. Don't see my luggage. A family waits also; I recognize them from the flight to Stockholm. Did they not get our bags there? See the same few bags circulate a few times, I follow the family to a desk. They seem to know what they're doing. I check my phone while waiting...no service. I get the wifi. Twenty minute, thirty minute wait? Seems like it. I get to the front, the lady asks me some questions - I frantically look up my hotel address and give her a handful, of information. They give me an "overnight pack" and say they'll try to get my bag to me.

Never have I been so glad to have packed my carry-on like that. In fact, I wish I had put even more in there. But I at least have clothes for the next day and a way to charge my phone.

I meet a camp guide, Samuel, outside of the baggage claim. We walk around the airport before getting to our ride. First surprise: I'm outside in Finland and I'm not freezing my face off. We head out with another camper, Lidia, and another guide. They're all incredibly friendly. Finland is full of trees, even in the cities. Really green, especially to someone from a desert.

We reach the place where we are staying and get our rooms. We have roommates (mine is from Estonia!), and the rooms are nice. We go for some lunch, which is rather tasty, but I'm still not recovered from my lack of hunger fully, so I stick with salad and water. I probably seem like a picky American, but who cares, I don't want to get sick. We take a small tour of the place, which is peaceful, green, and countryside-like. Then I get some time to sleep before dinner. The drapes work a miracle and it's dark enough that I can sleep.

Dinner? I just ate...I go off with some of my new friends and we have some food. I don't have much, but it's good again. We talk about IB, which all of us are/were in. Then it is time for the welcome party.

What a blast that was. We received backpacks, two shirts, college application info, and other goodies from Aalto University and University of Helsinki. Getting to know the guides and playing some really fun icebreaker games. Getting to run full speed to reach chairs before other people is fun. We meet up with our guides and group - we have one person, Daniel, missing because he is arriving later. We write a "two truths and a lie" for our group. The answers will be revealed at the end.

At the end, we talk, and there is an evening snack...I wouldn't call it that, it was sandwiches. I don't feel pressured into eating and just chat, finally getting to meet the other two Americans in person.

So, my luggage...I talk with our camp organizers and they get the info to try to help out. Everyone here is really helpful, plus my family got on the case back at home. I guess I did the right thing at the airport, which seems somewhat lucky considering how lost I felt.

So here I am sitting in the shirt from the overnight pack, which has the basic necessities for the night, which apparently includes shampoo but not body wash (?). While this may make it sound like today was a nightmare, it really wasn't. Just a challenge.

1. Google it! It must be the first thing everybody does, but after visiting sites and sites, opening pages and pages, checking images and images…  I promise you’ll, besides know more about your theme, fall in love with it too. By the way, I had already searched something while writing the essay on the first phase and it was useful.
2. Watch it! There are tons of videos, lectures and TED presentations, a great and free material.
3. Talk about it! If you know anyone who might know any simple thing that might be involved in your project, discuss it. Or, if you know somebody who is also applying for the MYC, it’ll be a pleasure to talk about it; if you don’t know, don’t be afraid of starting a conversation with someone who might go with you to this awesome thrill.
4. Write and rewrite it! I’m someone who always has problems with the limit of characters. Beyond that, English is not my mother language, so I reviewed it the most I could, and all of this makes the next – and, by now, last - tip:
5. Start as soon as you can!

In ten days, I will be getting on a plane and making my way to Finland for camp! Having just come out of AP and IB exams, it's hard to believe it's so soon. This will also be my first solo international travel (and only my second time doing international travel at all!), so I'm also somewhat anxious. Lately, we campers have been getting a ton of info on the camp that just makes everything even more exciting. Here are some of the highlights, which will hopefully give you a little preview of the camp:

T-Shirts
As any teenage math/science enthusiast knows (or should know), there is nothing better than free t-shirts. Seriously, they're at almost any event you go to. Well, University of Helsinki is giving all of this year's MY Campers free t-shirts!

Song Book
Let it go, let it goooo...welcome to the Hotel California...WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...
I guess that's what MY Camp is going to sound like during some of our spare time, because there's a tradition of SINGING! At my other summer camp, Canada/USA Mathcamp, I'm in the choir and tend to go to many of the sing along events, so I am SUPER EXCITED even though my singing sounds worse than a goat. Even better, we were asked to suggest songs for the song book, and everyone has great taste in music!

Schedule
We also got a schedule of what we will be doing every day at the camp. We get around 15 (I think) to finish up our projects with our group members to prepare for the Gala, where we will get to present to others. In addition to our projects and activities with the other campers, there will be tours and sightseeing!
One of the coolest activities that is planned is the International Night! Everyone will be presenting something from their country, no powerpoint allowed (Thank goodness. After TOK Presentations for IB I can hardly listen to another powerpoint presentation). I am working with the other two Americans to plan something, but it is hard to think of something to present for the US. Some examples of potential International Night activities include song, dance, and sharing interesting facts that not too many people know.

In the meantime, we are all working on project planning! The Applied Math group has been working on developing our trash collection board game, and we are drawing inspiration from Carcassonne and Kingdom Builder (two of the best games ever, alongside Dominion and Catan) for the board we are designing. I'm really excited to actually make the game and design our poster for the Gala!
Almost time!

Hey guys!

So after seeing my name as a finalist for the Millennium Youth Camp, I was pretty excited. I spent almost the whole day googling more about the camp, what would happen, who else was in it, etc. So I wanted to explain what happened next (at least in my case):

Right After Seeing Your Name: If you read my prior post about applying to the Millennium Youth Camp, then you would know that I didn't wait for an email from the organizers of the camp, and went straight to the website to find out. Well after I checked the website, a little while after they sent an email to tell everyone to look on the website to see if they're a finalist or not. At that point, I was really happy and really excited. I wanted to meet the other campers so I created the facebook group for finalists of the 2014 camp and posted it on the official Millennium Youth Camp Facebook Page. Someone in the group also made a WhatsApp group, which as an American, I didn't use previously but now use extensively. It allows you to text anyone, anywhere for no charge (its based on wifi).

Anyways, a lot of people started joining, and I was able to meet the other people of the Millennium Youth Camp. We all introduced ourselves in this really long Facebook comment thread, and soon not only the campers, but also the organizers and past camp participants (who would be our "guides" during the camp) also joined and we were able to learn more about the camp. After I created the Facebook Group and met most of the people, I received an email that was the official "Congratulations, you're a finalist" letter, and detailed what would be coming.

Right after the Email: In the email letter, they congratulated all of us for getting in, they talked about flights and how we would be contacted by someone from the airlines (the flights, along with everything is paid for by the Millennium Youth Camp, which is awesome), and they talked about our next assignment which we would do through Edmondo. Edmondo is a really cool website; the layout reminds me of Facebook. You're able to use Edmondo for private groups, and private groups within those private groups (The Millennium Youth Camp was the general group, and all of the project groups like Urban Planning, had their own group).
Anyways, we got a Login credential for that, and we were all able to meet on Edmondo and meet our guides for the camp (which some were able to also do later on the Facebook group).

Weeks after the Email: A week or two after the email, we found out our official project assignments that we would continue to work on during the camp. A misconception some people may have is that we only work on the projects during camp - that's not true. You work on the project the months before camp, but still do some work during camp. But a majority of the work is done before camp. Also by this time, you should be well acquainted with your other group members. There are 2 guys and 4 girls in my group (including myself). We're all around 16-17 [I'm on that latter half of the age end, since two days after the camp ends, I will be 18. Good thing, 16-19 is the eligible age range!]. My group members seem really cool and we're all from different parts of the world. Two people are from Brazil, I'm from America, one person is from New Zealand, one person is from the Ukraine, and one person is from the Czech Republic.

Working on our Projects: The projects we were working on were similar in nature to the proposals we had to make during the second round of the application process. However, what we actually we're researching was different (but related!). We had to have a draft of our project due May 11th. After doing all of the research for the project draft, I can definitely say that I know much more about Finland now! A week before the projects were due, I organized a group Skye call with the people in my team (Urban Planning). First off, planning a group Skye call from people in various time zones is a very, very difficult task. However, I used this website, to organize all of our time zones to UTC, and determine the best time to have the group Skye call. Check out the image below to see:

When we had our Skype call, it was very interesting to talk to everyone! We've all been communicating through Facebook and Edmondo, so hearing their voices (and awesome accents) and seeing their faces was nice! We're planning a few more Skype calls before the camp starts (which is in 2.5 weeks, right now).

Also during the period, we book our flights (I'll be doing a layover in Munich when I arrive, and one in Frankfurt when I depart), we fill out bank information (so they can reimburse us for our travel expenses such as traveling to and from the airport), and fill out personal information so they can contact us later on and prepare for our stay for the camp. From what I can tell, we will be staying at the Sannas Manor, which looks absolutely lovely!

You can negotiate your flights, if you have too. Also, some of the finalists are planning to stay for an extended period in Finland or in another country after the camp. We fill out permission slips, that mark if we are doing that or not. I know some people are planning to go to Germany or go to Stockholm (via Ferry). Anyways, if you're into that, you can talk about that with the flight people. They won't pay for your accommodations if you choose to pursue this option, but they pay for your flight from camp to the destination of the country you travel to afterwards, but that's it.

That's all I can remember for now! Comment for questions. 2.5 more weeks till the real fun begins!

-Akila Prayaga

Hello, denizens of Earth!
The previous post on this blog focused on the full application process for Millennium Youth Camp and mentioned some of the Urban Planning group's work. I'd like to springboard off of that and talk about my theme group, applied mathematics.

First, a bit about myself - I'm Jordan, a member of Team Applied Mathematics for MYC 2014. I hail from Central Arizona (USA) and am in the eleventh grade. I (really) like all of science and math and love interdisciplinary work. I'm an intern at the Arizona State University Biomedical Engineering Design Studio and an intern in the electrical engineering lab of Dr. Goryll through a program called SCENE. I'm a proud camper at Canada/USA Mathcamp. I eat pretzels with applesauce, listen primarily to radio stations with names beginning with "K", and play the coolest instrument ever (cello).

Applied Math...What?
Applied math is all about taking mathematics and applying it to real-life situations. To potential MYC applicants: this group might be a good fit for you if you enjoy mathematics and looking at situations from a mathematical perspective. Programmers would fit well, especially with this year's project (discussed later).

"I like math, but pure math, NOT applied"
I've been there. I mean, I go to a math camp that is all about pure math in all of its varieties, and one of my pet peeves is people who call my pure math "pointless" and talk about the need to apply math to life. So I was also hesitant about applying for the applied math group (haha). I have no regrets though; this group/project is constantly broadening my mathematical perspective and I am thoroughly enjoying it. So, my only advice is to GO FOR IT!

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Hey everyone!

Read more »

When we got accepted into the Millennium Youth Camp, an editor from MyScience emailed us about Camper profiles! MyScience is apparently the camp's main media channel, so I assume both organizations work closely with each other during this program.

Anyways, she interviewed each of the members of the group. The questions ranged from "How did you find out about the camp? Why did you decide to apply and how did you feel about getting accepted?" to "What are your hopes and expectations for the International Millennium Youth Camp 2014?" and many more! This all occurred a few weeks ago, and recently they've been publishing Camper Profiles for each of the groups! 

You can check the current published ones below:

Applied Mathematics
Energy 
Food Science and Food Technology
Renewable Resources
Urban Planning

For more information about MyScience, check them out over here.

The purpose of this blog is to give some more information about the Millennium Youth Camp from the participants point of view. We'll be sharing pictures, videos, and will be blogging about our personal experiences before, during, and after the camp! The bloggers will be the 2014 Millennium Youth Camp participants.

For more information about the Millennium Youth Camp, check this out.

Hope you enjoy!

-Akila Prayaga

Photo Credit 

 This is an unofficial blog and has no official relationship with the Millennium Youth Camp or any of its associated organizations.