One question a lot of the students had was "what's next?" There is no pipeline to channel these wonderful students. After a great one-time summer experience that fires their enthusiasm and creativity, they are left to find their own way, and this is an area where we could be doing a much better job. Most of the time there is not a next step for these students. Why not start a system of higher-level summer research programs or internships so promising students could advance in a particular area and most importantly, receive guidance that would further their careers after they leave the summer program?
We tracked our participants and it was always disappointing to learn that a particularly promising student settled for less because he or she needed some guidance, couldn't find a next step, or simply opted out because the conventional career path didn't fit. Scientific Mozarts are being ...
