The Team

Ammu

United States

Age: 15
School: Pinkerton Academy, NH
Field of study/Interests: Medical/Global Issues
Role: Content writing, Flash animations

Hello, I’m Ammu and I’m a 15 year-old from the USA. I’m currently a junior at Pinkerton Academy and am interested in pursuing a career in medicine after I’ve completed my education. I’ve had my sights set on becoming a doctor for as long as I can remember; well, at least since I decided I’d rather not be a garbage truck driver after all. More specifically, I’d like to become a neonatologist – a doctor who specializes in the treatment of premature babies. I love science and the thought of being able to use that background to help ensure the health and wellbeing of children as they come into this world, is so incredibly appealing and undoubtedly rewarding to me. In addition, I’m very passionate about global issues, and I strive to do my part to create, facilitate, and maximise social justice in today’s world whenever I can. I was so pleased to be able to validate my dedication to social justice issues in a real and tangible way while helping create this website.

Having just had the incredible experience of participating in the April 2004 ThinkQuest competition, I was pleasantly surprised when Sigit asked me to be a content writer for a new team he had become part of. I’ve known Sigit since my last TQ competition, wherein I had invited him to be a part of our team. However, he was already committed to another project. Sigit is an absolutely wonderful designer, and I decided that I’d really like to work with him on a TQ project. For this reason, among others, I agreed to participate in this competition – this is the last time Sigit will be able to participate in TQ, and I sincerely hope he enjoyed himself as much as we all loved working with him!

I’m totally blown away by the motivation, inspiration, and talent of this team. Ngoc, with her incredible dedication and dreamy style, kept sprouting ideas that were only outdone by her amazing writing. Lan is extremely creative and imaginative, and there is an inextricable bit of her within every piece of her work. Ben was constantly helpful and open to the far-fetched ideas the team threw at him. His programming skills are by far some of the best I have ever seen. We were always awestruck by his ability to take our most complex ideas and turn them into beautiful animations. Ben created most of the Flash animations and interactivities that you will find throughout the site. Last, but certainly not least, the site wouldn’t even have gotten off the ground if it wasn’t for Sigit and his amazing taste and creativity. Collectively, the five of us came together and each contributed our talents to make “All Ground Up!” the way you see it. Needless to say, I constantly felt incredibly encouraged by my fellow team-mates. Never did they let me down. During the course of the project, I contracted mononucleosis which kept me sick for several weeks, and I ended up writing most of my content while I was ill. I’m so grateful that I had Ngoc, Ben, Sigit, and Lan to keep me motivated – they didn’t let me feel down on myself at all! We all meshed together more than I ever expected us to; it feels like we’ve known each other for several years rather than simply several months. I suppose sharing work over several long, sleepless nights will do that. Though the fact that we reside in different locations and time zones could have proved to be a major obstacle, it was never a deterrent in what we set out to achieve. By utilising internet technologies such as instant messengers, e-mail, forums, and even internet telephones, we were able to keep the lines of communication wide open and constantly busy. Communication proved to be the key to our team’s efficiency: allowing our ideas to flow freely. Using the technology to effortlessly share our ideas in engaging discussions was the very cornerstone of our success as a team. Despite our busy individual schedules, we all somehow managed to find time to devote to the project, and though it was difficult at times, we managed to pull it all together in the end. No matter how tough it might have been, I value the experience so much and have no regrets at all.

ThinkQuest is an amazing experience in and of itself. The concept is absolutely ingenious – international cooperation among high school students, culminating in an informative, attractive piece of work, that all who participate in can be proud of. I find it amazing to be able to connect and work with students from other cultures and backgrounds in order to simply create; the geographic, political, and cultural barriers simply fall away and reveal a simple, powerful core: the desire to learn and share, to hear and be heard. The intensity and passion with which a group of teenagers, whose determination and fervour are far too often underestimated, can work is staggering. I’m so grateful to ThinkQuest for providing students from around the world with this remarkable opportunity – I continue to be amazed with it, even this second time around, and I am sure I will be long after I am no longer eligible to participate. Likewise, I will never forget the immense contributions of others who could easily be overlooked in the grand scheme of “All Ground Up!” Our two coaches, Mr. Poirier and Carol, who worked tirelessly to keep us motivated and on task. I can’t thank them enough for giving us the incredible gift of their time, insight and encouragement. Thanks, also, to our parents, who never seem to tire of being proud of us, for constantly encouraging us and for putting up with our ambitious whims and fancies. Never once did they doubt us or discourage us. For this, and so much more, we are grateful.

Thank you so much for visiting our website. With any luck, you gained as much from it as each of us did.

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