A JOURNEY I WON’T FORGET ANYTIME SOON BY AYDEN BALL

June 4, 2025

As we arrived at the Jacob Javits Center on May 2nd we were greeted by two NY Sun Works staff holding signs that alerted us that we had made it to our location. That was just the beginning of a journey I won’t forget anytime soon.

As we arrived, our school’s Grow Support Team member, Trevor, provided us with green wristbands to enter the conference hall. We separated into two groups: the Press Team and the Presenters. I was a press team member in the Pepper Group. My role was to interview student presenters from schools across the city and adult sponsors.

The first person I interviewed was Arlanys from Careers in Sports High School. Her project was about how food coloring can affect plant growth. The first question I had for her was “How long did your project take to finish?” Arlanys told me that her project took just over a week to complete. Personally, this was the second most interesting investigation out of all the presentations because it was something I had never seen before. It was really interesting to see something different.

The second group I interviewed comprised Clara, Alice and Jorge from the Robert E. Bell Middle School. Their investigation was titled: Lacto-Fermentation, Cross Pollination, Aphids in the House. I asked the group how long it took to complete their experiment and they responded that it took “a few weeks.” I also asked them to rate their experience on a scale of one to ten, to which they replied ”on a scale this was a ten.”

After a few more speeches we ate lunch, but even before we had lunch the experiments the other schools presented were amazing. The experiments are something I could never forget.

During the farm tour, we got to see the variety of crops being grown on the roof of the Javits Center. The best fact I learned from the guide was that even bats benefit from the growth of the apple trees.

My personal take on this experience is that NY Sun Works and the Jacob Javits Center exhibit awesome projects and people. I would like to give a special thanks to the people that I interviewed and the outside presenters: Alexis Harley, Dr.Elison Blancaflor, Joyce Leveston and Te’lario Watkins II.