Acknowledgements

This guidebook is the product of countless conversations, late nights of writing, and the generosity of a community that believed in the value of sharing what they had learned. Putting together a resource like this is never a solo effort, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who played a part in shaping it.

To my family and mentors, thank you for supporting me through the process of researching, writing, and refining this guidebook, and for encouraging me to pursue a project that I hope will genuinely help future researchers navigate their own science fair journeys.

To the finalists who sat down for interviews and shared their honest experiences, successes, setbacks, and advice:

Rahul Madhu, Aanya Goel, Benjamin Lothamer, Kerem Gelir, Fatimah Alsaleem, Yee Jia Chuah, Ayat Jaffar, Nicholas Khoury-Levy, Monica Ngo, Mahie Patil, Benedikt Kienle, Warren Fu, Mishika Bhatia, Eyüp Bilir, Agastya Mishra, Siqi Tan, Kenisson Morais Brito, Hanna Suzuki, Sriram Susarla, Yan He Tan, Sarah M. Aboulsamh, Calvin Hung, Nada Nasef, José Julián Rodríguez Muñoz, Rishi Pampati, Tristan Cao, Shimaa Mohamed, Sara Hoti, Stavan Majumdar, Emma Rogers, and Avneesh Kudrimoti, along with the additional finalists who shared their insights anonymously: thank you. Your willingness to be candid about what worked, what didn't, and what you wish you'd known earlier is the backbone of this entire guidebook.

To the educators and mentors who lent their time and expertise to this project, Farzana, Emily Jo Meyer, and Sean P. Nash: thank you. Your guidance and perspective added a depth to this guidebook that student experiences alone could not have provided, and your willingness to support a project like this speaks to how much you care about the students who will read it.

Finally, thank you to Daniel Ginzburg, Brandon Jeon, and Zain Chaudhry for building and designing this website, bringing this guidebook to life online.

I hope these pages leave you feeling more prepared, less alone in the process, and a little more excited about what you're about to build. If you are reading this, you are likely holding this guidebook as the last thing you read before starting your own research journey, and that is not lost on me. Science fair research can be intimidating, filled with uncertainty, setbacks, and moments where you're not quite sure if what you're doing is right. But it is also one of the most rewarding things you may do in high school, and every person acknowledged above once stood exactly where you are now, unsure but curious, and willing to figure it out. Wherever your project takes you, I hope this guidebook makes the path a little clearer.

If anything in this guidebook resonates with you, or if you simply want to share how your project is going, please don't hesitate to reach out or connect with me on LinkedIn. I would love to hear about your journey.