Hello everybody and Welcome to day 2 of the 66th LIYSF ceremony!
The day kicked off bright and early, thanks to jet lag, I found myself wide awake at 4 AM. After trying (and failing) to fall back asleep, I finally gave in around 5-ish and got ready for breakfast before heading out to the flag bearing rehearsal at the opening ceremony. Unfortunately, due to a bit of confusion and a lot of students, I couldn’t get to hold the flag despite waking up as early but still I was lucky enough to have the incredible opportunity to meet the Nobel Prize winner and Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal, who is the Royal Patron of LIYSF.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the ceremony was the Nobel Laureate Principal Lecture on Asymmetric Organocatalysis. I’ve never been the biggest fan of chemistry (my professors can definitely vouch for that). But this lecture? It was different. It was engaging, insightful, and delivered in such a compelling way that it held the audience’s full attention from start to finish. It was the kind of talk that made the whole room lean in. Now, for the first time, I understand why the R and S configurations in organic chemistry matter (if you know you know)!
After the ceremony, I even got the chance to personally meet both the Nobel Prize winner and The Princess Royal. Some people even got photos with the medal, but sadly, due to time constraints, I missed out. Still, just being in that moment was unforgettable! Post ceremony, we attended another insightful and thought-provoking Principal Lecture Demonstration on Public Health Leadership, Science, and Impact at RGS.
After dinner, the day wasn’t over yet, we headed straight into the GRAND LIYSF TRIVIA: MOLECULAR MEGA MIXER. We made teams of 10, with people from at least five different countries and three different continents in each group. It was chaotic in the best way possible!! So much energy, and lots of laughs!! Honestly, it was so much fun!
Wrapped things up at about 10 in the night by setting my alarms for Day 3 and going to bed, still thinking about how crazy and amazing this whole experience already is!!
