Introduction:
Howdy! My name is Stephanie and I'm the younger sister, by two years, to Elizabeth. Right now I'm enjoying my fourth year as a senior at BISFA.
My hobbies include playing my violin, drawing and sleeping. When you're a BISFA student you need all the sleep you can get!!! I also enjoy making up different designs for different ideas that may pop up in my head, such as the VEX or the different projects my sister and I are currently working on. Out of the two of us though, I am usually the one to program most of the ideas rather than designing and creating the structure of the projects. My sister does a better job in doing that, than I can ever accomplish. However I do try to help whenever I can.
If I were to describe my personality I would say stubborn. In this world there are probably millions of other people smarter, faster, and more talented than I am. However because of how hard headed I am and my own stubbornness, I never give up and I always look for another solution. I would also like to say that I'm a kind person. Although the only people that can really tell if that's true or not is other people, hahaha. But I do value generosity in other people and try to do my part in appreciating each and every person by showing a little kindness.
My life these past four years has been pretty crazy. If I were to tell my younger self about all the things I have done and that I would one day meet Yo Yo Ma, I wouldn't have believed it. Just editing this website makes me look back at all the things that have happened and all the hard work poured into each event. And to be perfectly honest, it was all worth it. I have experienced hundreds of things that most kids my age might never experience and traveled to unique and amazing places. To me these past three years has been a journey, a journey worth taking.
As the younger sister, it's never easy to stand out, especially to such an accomplished person as my sister. But don't underestimate me! I may be two years younger, but I have done my share of things that might be of some interest to you. So please read ahead if you want to learn more about my life and all the crazy things that I have done with my sister and my family.
My hobbies include playing my violin, drawing and sleeping. When you're a BISFA student you need all the sleep you can get!!! I also enjoy making up different designs for different ideas that may pop up in my head, such as the VEX or the different projects my sister and I are currently working on. Out of the two of us though, I am usually the one to program most of the ideas rather than designing and creating the structure of the projects. My sister does a better job in doing that, than I can ever accomplish. However I do try to help whenever I can.
If I were to describe my personality I would say stubborn. In this world there are probably millions of other people smarter, faster, and more talented than I am. However because of how hard headed I am and my own stubbornness, I never give up and I always look for another solution. I would also like to say that I'm a kind person. Although the only people that can really tell if that's true or not is other people, hahaha. But I do value generosity in other people and try to do my part in appreciating each and every person by showing a little kindness.
My life these past four years has been pretty crazy. If I were to tell my younger self about all the things I have done and that I would one day meet Yo Yo Ma, I wouldn't have believed it. Just editing this website makes me look back at all the things that have happened and all the hard work poured into each event. And to be perfectly honest, it was all worth it. I have experienced hundreds of things that most kids my age might never experience and traveled to unique and amazing places. To me these past three years has been a journey, a journey worth taking.
As the younger sister, it's never easy to stand out, especially to such an accomplished person as my sister. But don't underestimate me! I may be two years younger, but I have done my share of things that might be of some interest to you. So please read ahead if you want to learn more about my life and all the crazy things that I have done with my sister and my family.
The Arts
Violin:
If you didn't know before, I play the violin! Even though I may not be an expert, I do my part in contributing to the BISFA orchestra, and when the time comes, the All County High School Orchestra. I must admit that playing the violin can sometimes turn into a tiring chore. However I know I will never give it up because it's something I personally love to do and at times can be very relaxing to play. The struggles that come with being a violinist I welcome wholeheartedly, because what would be life without a challenge?
Although I know I don't want to become a professional violinist in the future, I do my best to accomplish the most I can each day, and be the best violinist I can be.
Some of my favorite classical composers include: Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, and Beethoven
Also remember kids! If you practice 40 hours a day, you can become just as good as a violinist as Ling Ling!
If you didn't know before, I play the violin! Even though I may not be an expert, I do my part in contributing to the BISFA orchestra, and when the time comes, the All County High School Orchestra. I must admit that playing the violin can sometimes turn into a tiring chore. However I know I will never give it up because it's something I personally love to do and at times can be very relaxing to play. The struggles that come with being a violinist I welcome wholeheartedly, because what would be life without a challenge?
Although I know I don't want to become a professional violinist in the future, I do my best to accomplish the most I can each day, and be the best violinist I can be.
Some of my favorite classical composers include: Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, and Beethoven
Also remember kids! If you practice 40 hours a day, you can become just as good as a violinist as Ling Ling!
Fun Fact: I have never gotten a private lesson teacher until my high school BISFA years. Everything that I have learned so far has all been self taught!
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Visual Arts:
When I'm not preoccupied with my violin I'm almost always practicing my other art, art!!!! I mostly do digital art, but on occasion I do have a water color set that I love to use. I only started drawing consistently since 2015, so I still consider myself a beginner. However it has been one of my dreams to become a successful online comic artist or the independent producer of my own video game; so I always find some time to sketch a little something everyday, even at school! I learn by self-teaching myself, and watching various YouTube videos on how I can improve my art. |
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Doodle 4 Google Challenge 2018
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In the year of 2018, I decided to participate in the annual Google 4 Doodle Challenge. As soon as I heard about this challenge I knew I was going to love participating in it. And I did! I looooovvveed doing this challenge. Not only was I super into the prompt of the challenge, but I had a chance to have my doodle appear in the google homepage!?!?! What an exciting prospect!!! Even though I was limited by time constraint from other projects, I always made sure to give at least an hour to this project everyday!
What It Means: The prompt of this years Doodle 4 Google Challenge was "what inspires you". For me there was a pretty easy answer to this question. Space. Nothing else gives me such a thrill then contemplating about the endless nature of space. Whenever I am walking through the streets of my town, I have a habit of looking down at my feet. So whenever I need to get out of my own head I look up and the sky is always there to greet me. The timeless wonders and possibilities of space always fills me with inspiration and motivation. This piece took about 3 days (the full 72 hours) from concept to the finished piece. The program that I used is Autodesk Sketchbook. |
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The Unknown can be terrifying, but also beautiful.
That's why I want to become an aerospace engineer or an astrophysicist. So I can explore the unknown, and journey to the stars beyond.
That's why I want to become an aerospace engineer or an astrophysicist. So I can explore the unknown, and journey to the stars beyond.
You have to be odd to be number ONE
I was definitely the odd one out in my class. After all, while everyone's favorite time might have been recess or lunch or maybe even gym, mines was always math. I LOVE MATH. For some reason I always find myself excited to solve any math problem I can get my hands on, and challenging myself with problems I didn't even know how to solve! One of my clearest memories in elementary school was when my math teacher was explaining to the advanced math group I was a part of what P.E.M.D.A.S was, I hopped up and shouted in excitement, "P.E.M.D.A.S!". Yeah I know, I was a really weird kid. Even my favorite games had to deal with patterns, SET, and basic math, 24. I was such a math nerd that I played in my schools SET competition for fun and ended up winning the whole tournament. I also played in an elementary and middle school 24 Competition and ended up ranking 5th place, in the top 16. I had a lot of fun in both of those competitions. :)
Math just always seems to come naturally to me, and it's never lost that excitement I feel when solving a particularly difficult equation or problem. Of course there's some things that I'm not very good at such as graphing or percentages, but I still enjoy doing them either way. I can also say with utmost confidence that while math excites me, English always eludes me.
Math just always seems to come naturally to me, and it's never lost that excitement I feel when solving a particularly difficult equation or problem. Of course there's some things that I'm not very good at such as graphing or percentages, but I still enjoy doing them either way. I can also say with utmost confidence that while math excites me, English always eludes me.
In my middle school years, I wasn't the only one who loved math as much as I did. Or at least was as passionate as I was. The math club was a bunch of nerds who joined every Tuesday to solve different problems and get ready for the Math County Competition. My first year doing it I was in seventh grade, and I wasn't very successful. I had barely missed the cut for the top 20 kids who would make it into the next round, which was All States.
However instead of being dissuaded, I was even more determined to make it into States next year. I studied hard and long, making sure to touch up on everything I may have forgotten, what I was bad at, and learn something new. I am not saying that I was the number one student in my club, I was actually the third smartest person in that room. However no one, not even the two people who were smarter than me, could beat me in a speed round of algebra. So the next year I attended Math Club again, and made it as both individual and team qualifications. Before I knew it, the competition was over and I got the results. Out of the sixty kids who attended as representatives of their school, I was ranked sixteenth place. I made it to States, and I couldn't have been any happier. Our team also did really well. Out of the eight teams there we ranked third. I was so excited that I made it to States! It didn't help that after the competition we had a pizza party with lots of snacks, soda, and sugar.
Unfortunately though I was not able to attend the All States Math Competition, because on the exact same day I had an All County Rehearsal, Concert, and an All States VEX Nothing But Net Competition.
I couldn't just let my sister and family down, so I sacrificed going to States and instead went to the VEX States Competition.
I don't regret not going, but I'll always be left to wonder what would have happened if I did.
However instead of being dissuaded, I was even more determined to make it into States next year. I studied hard and long, making sure to touch up on everything I may have forgotten, what I was bad at, and learn something new. I am not saying that I was the number one student in my club, I was actually the third smartest person in that room. However no one, not even the two people who were smarter than me, could beat me in a speed round of algebra. So the next year I attended Math Club again, and made it as both individual and team qualifications. Before I knew it, the competition was over and I got the results. Out of the sixty kids who attended as representatives of their school, I was ranked sixteenth place. I made it to States, and I couldn't have been any happier. Our team also did really well. Out of the eight teams there we ranked third. I was so excited that I made it to States! It didn't help that after the competition we had a pizza party with lots of snacks, soda, and sugar.
Unfortunately though I was not able to attend the All States Math Competition, because on the exact same day I had an All County Rehearsal, Concert, and an All States VEX Nothing But Net Competition.
I couldn't just let my sister and family down, so I sacrificed going to States and instead went to the VEX States Competition.
I don't regret not going, but I'll always be left to wonder what would have happened if I did.
"I never got why people hate math so much. Math always has an end answer, whether it's zero, undefined, or any one of the infinity possible numbers.
The journey to get to the final destination can be difficult, but isn't life just the same?"
The journey to get to the final destination can be difficult, but isn't life just the same?"
Cool Summer Project
During my middle school years as a STEM Magnet student at Springfield, we had to do a project which we worked on during the summer. One of my summer projects was if different types filters did a better job in keeping out dust then regular commercial filters. In my experiment I used onion skin, corn husk, two different types of commercial filters, a coffee filter, gauze, and cheese cloth. For the dust, no I didn't search in my closet collecting dust, I used flour as a substitute. To collect data I used a dust sensor to read the levels of dust pre-filter and post-filter, and a vibration sensor to read how much air was actually passing through to the other side. After a filter who doesn't let air in would be no better than a brick wall. After the experiment was concluded, I arranged my data and to my surprise saw that the Onion Skin performed better than both of the commercial filters. While I was excited to show my findings to my class, what was even more exciting was what happened two years later.
Two years later, while my sister and I were being interviewed about the Toy 2.0 challenge by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, I briefly mentioned my summer project because along with experiment, I also did research diving into the amazing properties of onions and the myth behind them. To my surprise, they wanted to know more about this project I had done when I was in 6th grade and asked me if I could show them. I was floored.
Who knew that someone would ever ask me to show them a, what I thought was silly, summer project I had done two years ago?
It was a great experience to talk to representatives of the AAAS about my small project and get some feedback on it. If you'd like to see the video they made about turning Ideas to Inventions where my sister and I appear for a short while the link is the button down below.
Two years later, while my sister and I were being interviewed about the Toy 2.0 challenge by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, I briefly mentioned my summer project because along with experiment, I also did research diving into the amazing properties of onions and the myth behind them. To my surprise, they wanted to know more about this project I had done when I was in 6th grade and asked me if I could show them. I was floored.
Who knew that someone would ever ask me to show them a, what I thought was silly, summer project I had done two years ago?
It was a great experience to talk to representatives of the AAAS about my small project and get some feedback on it. If you'd like to see the video they made about turning Ideas to Inventions where my sister and I appear for a short while the link is the button down below.
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Stephanie VicarteYounger SisterHowdy! I'm a 17 year old, current senior that attends Barbara Ingram School for the Arts! I love drawing, music, trains, coffee, and physics. My art and music has allowed me to creatively express myself, and has opened my mind to new perspectives. I am a self-taught engineer with experience and interest in Arduino, C+, VEX Robotics, and Raspberry Pi. My dream is to become a mechanical engineer. I wish to explore the future of transportation and space exploration so humans can boldly go where no person has gone before.
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