Miztvah Corps-
I may not have known you all as well as I did Sci-Tech, but I am glad we collaborated in several ways. It was especially an honor to lead services with Dani, Jared, and Alisa. I look forward to seeing how you contribute to social justice movements and charities in the future.
-Heidi
And to Sci-Tech Israel 2018,
I met most of you for the first time ever almost 2.5-3 weeks ago, and it already feels like I have known you all forever. It breaks my heart to say I will not return to Sci-Tech anytime soon. However, this will not be the last time we see each other. I look around and see the future of science and STEM or STEAM if you count art. I see future chemists, biologists, doctors, what have you.
I have to say, I was nervous. I have never been to Sci-Tech before and I came on this trip knowing only two people in advance: a life-long friend and someone whom I just met back in March at a L’Taken Seminar in DC. I did not know what to expect, honestly. I only knew I wanted to go to Israel with a “nerd camp” rather than my former camp, which gets repetitive.
As I said before, this will not be the last time we see each other. The next face of genetics or biology may be in this crowd. The search for a cure to cancer may be ended by someone in this group. Some of us may see each other in two years at Technion. And, to my fellow sisters in STEM: let us break the stereotypes and teach young girls that they, too, can be great chemists like Marie Curie or Henrietta Lackey.
I wanted to leave on a bittersweet note, but a good one. The song “Time of our Lives” seems to do the trick. The song basically says that this chapter in our lives is over, and it was one of the best chapters we have written so far. However, it has ended, and it is time to start writing the next chapter.
Having said that, I am glad to have found a safe space and a family with you all.
With love from your fellow sister in science,
Heidi Keith