QHSS Summer Diaries

From presenting at the American Museum of Natural History’s STEM Symposium to publishing their own books and even traveling across the world, QHSSers kept busy during their summer break of 24’. As school begins to slowly creep its way back into our everyday lives, it’s easy to reminisce about those long, warm summer days. Whether the break was used to catch up on some much needed rest or to go on a plethora of adventures, let’s look at what made this summer so memorable for QHSSers!

Many students used the summer to dive deeper into their passions, particularly in STEM fields. A group of QHSSers’ love for both baking and biology led them to a unique project: extracting DNA from Kefir & Sourdough bread, combining food science with hands-on lab experiments. Juniors Shimla Nomani (yes, that’s me!), Tristan Dai & Julia Gelmen connected with Professor Dr. Levinger for an internship through the York College’s Summer Research program.

Throughout the summer, we uncovered the mysterious microbiome of Kefir milk grains in comparison to the microbiome of sourdough in an attempt to answer the main question of: Why is bacteria beneficial in some food products but not others? Through a series of lab procedures that led us to many failed experiments coupled with a stressful time crunch, the team was somehow able to pull through and construct a poster! We then were given the opportunity to present our findings at the 2024 NYC Science Research Mentoring Consortium, where we were also able to venture out and explore other science summer programs. Overall, the process was full of challenges, but ultimately rewarding. If you’re interested in learning more about our experiment, here’s a PDF of our poster.

Ariana SL Hoosein, current Junior SGO President, went straight to work into her debut poetry book The Lotus Eaters. To learn more about the book, you can read our article “Beware the Lotus: An Island Haunted by Dreams & Danger” in our October 24’ issue. To give a brief rundown, Ariana spent the summer writing a collection of poems that follow through the narrative of a Lotus eater, after the Greek story of Lotus-eaters. She shares that the writing process was a fluid one, as some days poems easily flowed from pen to paper while on others, it seemed near impossible. Regardless of its difficulty, she preserved and went on to self publish the book on Amazon, with the inspiring message to aspiring writers: Just do it (not from Nike).

“I spent three weeks in Japan with my family, visiting places such as Tokyo, Odawara, Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. We went to popular tourist attractions like Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Nara Park, and Osaka Castle, and other ones as well. My favorite spots were the Pokémon Centers in each city, where I bought most of my souvenirs. The food was delicious, and I even got to make my own cup noodles! Overall, it was a fantastic time and I would totally go again.”

While Erika was out and about experiencing the vibrant lifestyle at Japan, from its delicious foods to beautiful tourist attractions, Arafat spent his summer exploring the rich cultural significance of the Middle East through: performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia, riding camels, hiking mountains, and overshopping in the busy markets of Istanbul, Turkey.

First he visited Medina with his family to perform the islamic pilgrimage called Umrah where he was whisplashed immediately after landing by the amount of modesty everyone adopted in their attire. He notes that “all the women and girls were wearing hijabs and there were a LOT of niqabs!” On his few days of arrival, no time was wasted. Him and his family routinely moved from their hotel to a mosque and back to pray 5 times a day, which is crucial for all Muslims. He notes that it “was so much walking and waking up so we didn’t have any time to sleep at all!”

At first the religiousness of the people there was intimidating for him however the cultural shock soon began to wear off when it came down to the food he ate. He recalls that the food was excessive at restaurants and he didn’t even eat a quarter of the portions.

Me: What food was there? Do you remember?

Arafat: There was a TON of rice like LOADS a platter of it and the driest chicken I’ve ever had. I did not enjoy the food.

Me: This looks Yum! I can’t believe it tasted bad.

Arafat: Looks can be deceiving…just like the chicken and rice in Medina restaurants!

His family and him then spent around 3 days shopping, and he bought a beautiful blue janamaz (prayer mat), while his mother purchased a burqa/burka (Islamic outer garment). After a short shopping spree, they climbed mountains with large Islamic significance that were known for being blazing hot and rode on camels & horses.

Transitioning to the exhausting travel to Umrah, Arafat narrates,

“It was such a long, struggling journey because we had to take a train for 3 HOURS sitting down without phones and the clothing was so loose. I felt dead, and the train took us from Medina to Mecca, where we stayed at another hotel! We weren’t allowed to argue so I was just crying inside cuz my sister was like .”

If you think that was all, think again! The day after, when they went back to finish Umrah, Arafat’s mom tried touching the Kaaba (“a stone building at the center of Islam’s most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia” – Wikipedia), and someone broke her nose. Arafat describes the interior of the hospital to resemble that of “some abandoned horror scene,” but perhaps worse than that, the service was terrible! It took them three minutes to find people to even get his mom help for her BROKEN nose.

The main places that they visited were the Blue Mosque (famous for being one of the most significant Ottoman Empire structures), Hagia Sophia Mosque (former Church), and the Grand Baazar (one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets).

To summarize, from Erika’s interesting adventures in Japan and Arafat’s unexpected challenges in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to the fascinating research of microbiomes and Ariana’s journey of self-publishing her poetry, this summer was filled with a large, diverse collection of experiences that truly embody the adventurous spirit of QHSSers. As we start on a new school year, these incredible stories remind us of the different creative sparks within our community, inspiring us to achieve something new even as the summer ends.