This is my interview to the newspaper of the municipal (Kohila), where I grew up and attended high school at. To me translating seems to be much harder than just writing a text on your own, so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes in advance!
Holger Saare: "It all starts with setting the direction"
Holger Saare, a young
man from Kohila has flown fast and far - he graduated Kohila high school with a
gold medal, bachelor studies in Tartu University in Physics with cum
laude and then applied for a Fulbright scholarship, to spend one year
of his master studies in the US. He got the scholarship and instead got an
offer to enter PhD studies instead. By now Holger has studied in North Carolina
State University for a year with four years ahead of him. We had a conversation
with him, when he was spending his month-long vacation back in Estonia.
When did you grow
interest in Physics - it's not one of the simplest subjects?
I got a deeper interest back in high school. I'd
like to thank Kirsti Solvak (my Physics teacher) and Raivo Heinaru (my school
principal), who brought here Mart Kuurme, a Physics teacher from Tallinn
Secondary School of Science, he helped me a lot in understanding Physics.
How did he create that
interest?
Different
experiments managed to create appeal to the subjects. You can read a book at
any time, but if you can build something up or throw sparks, then that's
interesting. I don't think that it's important, how much study materials the
teacher distributes, but rather the skill of creating interest. Anyone can read
a presentation out loud, but creating appeal is important, so the student would
want to continue exploring the subject on his own. You just need to spark the
student's interest and he will grow.
You graduated high
school with a medal ...
Yes, a gold
medal. Then I carried on to Tartu University for bachelor's in Physics and also
was rather successful there..
Rather!? You
graduated cum laude ...
Yes ... In
Tartu I was working with another alumni of Kohila high school, Rainis Venta. We
were working in a start-up, where we tried to develop a reusable laundry
detergent. So, it was a happy coincidence that we were in Tartu, working
together with another alumnus of Kohila high school. Edith Maasik was class
teacher for both of us, so I guess she knows how to inspire and create
interest.
What happened to the
laundry detergent?
We're still
working on it. (Laughs.)
From Holger's blog:
Start-up
RelaDe (Reusable Laundry Detergent for long) is a small, but efficient
five-member team. Our goal is to create a reusable detergent, based on
nanoparticles I synthesized in my bachelor's thesis. Imagine how nice life
would be, if you wouldn't constantly have to go shopping for the detergent and
then load it into your washing machine. The machine itself recollects the
detergent and reuses it multiple times. This kind of technology isn't also
crazy expensive, you just need this detergent based on nanoparticles and a
small add-on to your washing machine, which acts as a magnet.
What's interesting in
physics?
Physics is
a discipline with which you can do anything. In high school, you study
mechanics or optics narrowly, but if you achieve higher education in physics,
then you can go anywhere. A lot of physicists work in banks or as programmers.
Of Estonian physicists, many are CEO's, project managers or even politicians,
for example Ene Ergma (previous president of our Parliament) or Jaak Aaviksoo (used to be Minister of Defence and Minister of Education and Research) ... There are many places you can go to
with a degree in physics.
What are your memories
about Kohila school now?
My memories
are highly positive, I can't recall anything bad. I recall my classmates, some
teachers ... I can't remember the times, where I had to sit in a boring lecture
- I guess you forget about those. You remember interesting things that teachers
have said in the lectures. Teachers get quite often sidetracked and talk about
things unrelated to class material, these moments are the most exciting ones.
Now you've taken some big steps and times spent in Kohila tends to get
forgotten..
Big steps start from smaller ones. I'm actually
really happy I could attend this school. Maybe if I had gone to an elite
school, I wouldn't have started to like physics. They quite often force you to
study excessively and work through too much material, maybe I would have
started to hate physics. I'm glad that I started in Kohila and ended up where I
am now. Happy.
How did you end up in
United States?
That's
actually quite an interesting story. When I finished my bachelor's in Tartu I
carried on to do master's in material science. I studied there for a year and
applied for Fulbright scholarship, through which students can spend a year
studying in the states. Applying for it lasted for half a year and I had to
fill tons of papers, but finally I got the scholarship. Their committee applied
me to four different universities as they saw fit - one in New York City, one
in Arkansas, one in Nebraska, and fourth, where I finally ended up, is in
North-Carolina. I could've picked any one of them, but NC State made me an
offer to skip master's, go directly to a PhD program and they would cover the
costs for rest of my studies. Of course I accepted that offer and now I'm on my
way to get a PhD in Physics.
How you recall first
days in the US?
It was
quite scary. I mean, it's on the other side of the Earth. Imagine starting a
new life somewhere far away, to live there for five years and you can only
bring one suitcase with you. I am a first Estonian to ever attend that
university. So I jumped into the great unknown.
How big is that
university?
Comparing
to Estonian universities, it is quite large - there are 2.5 times more students
than in University of Tartu. The campus has its own police, bus lines, medicine
center ... There's everything you need for life and maybe even a bit more.
What do your days look
like?
The coursework is really intensive. Everyday
work is compared to that I had back in Estonia during finals period. There are
really few lectures, I sit in lecture 1-1.5 hours per day average. Rest is just
studying alone. Back in Estonia I had 5-6 hours of lectures per day, but in the
US you need to learn most of the material yourself and lecture is mostly
discussion or asking questions. I read from somewhere that average PhD student
gets 6 hours of sleep in my university, so it can get quite intense.
Also, the regulations
are much more strict - should my average grade fall under 75% I might get
kicked out. You're mostly not allowed to discuss about homework with your
classmates - they count that as plagiarism, that includes asking for help or
solving a problem together with your friends.
From Holger's blog:
I just
started my classes, which are remarkably different from the Estonian system. I
have just 3 main classes, compared to 7-10 lectures I've usually had. Moreover,
the lectures only last an hour and they we don't go through much material
during them - mostly there's a discussion, professor answers any questions we
have and let us know, what do we need to know.
Instead, we
get a new homework in every class every week, which can be quite tough. First
of all, the topic is new, so you have to master the subject yourself. Secondly,
the problems are of higher levels and usually quite long. As my professor said:
"Don't worry, you won't have this particular problem in your exam, because
it takes you about 5-6 hours to solve this." Nice! And usually they give
new homework, before you can hand in the previous one.
During the
first year, you just have to attend lectures as you would back home. After that
you need to complete qualification exams to see, if you're fit for the PhD or
not. If you pass that then you're officially a PhD candidate. Then you need a
lab, where you can work on your dissertation. You won't have any more lectures
by then and you just go to lab, work on projects, publish articles. Some
subjects are mandatory, that every Physics PhD must know in their sleep and
rest classes you can pick as you want.
What does a Physics PhD
need to know in his sleep?
Four subjects - classical mechanics, quantum
mechanics, electricity and magnetism, and statistical mechanics.
You mentioned you need
to find a lab for your dissertation. What kind of subject did you pick?
As of right
now, I'm going to a lab that works on thin film. Thin film is a very thin layer
of metal, hundred thousand times thinner than a single hair. For example,
modern electronics is based on that. Our devices can get constantly smaller,
because we improve the properties of that thin layer of metal.
You probably think in
English only while being there?
Yes. I have
this weird situation, where I comprehend technical English really well, because
we don't have many advanced physics books in Estonian, but everyday language
turned out to be surprisingly difficult. Most of the times I think in English,
but quite often I still use filler words, such as "noh" or "ja
siis".
What's the hardest thing
to get used to in the US?
The heat. Right now, there's over 40 degrees
over there. Contrary to widespread opinions, I think Estonia has really nice
weather, you can just calmly stay outside.
From Holger's blog:
* Hierarchy
seems to be really important here. Undergrads look at grad students more like
employees of the university, even if the age difference is quite small. Also,
there's a separate dining hall for athletes and libraries and school buildings
have different lounges for grad students.
*
Everyone's mostly writing in print, so I, who's used to writing in cursive
quite often get looks. Quite a few have mentioned that I have a nice
handwriting and even a professor came to check it out, to see, how am I
writing.
* A lot of
people wear caps, even indoors. A lot of clothes here are either monotonous or
have a logo printed on them. For example, when I wear a t-shirts with wider
stripes, a lot of people mention it.
*
Sanitizing hands is a really big deal here. Most buildings have machines that
dispense hand sanitizers and people give out alcohol sprays in the streets.
* For
whatever reason, I really happen to stand out. I don't know whether it's the
way I look or that I'm wearing clothes I brought with me from home. I
understand that sometimes it's my accent, since it's an uncommon one, so people
come up to me and ask, where I'm from, even if I'm hanging out with other
international students.
Is the scholarship
enough to get by?
It's enough
to get by, but not to live luxuriously. It's difficult since although food is
really cheap, the rent prices are outrageous. It's weird that if you live in a
dorm, then it's more expensive than renting an apartment or living in a house
with someone. I live in Raleigh, which is slightly bigger than Tallinn. At first,
I lived in a dorm and the rent was 800 dollars a month for one, with kitchen
split amongst four of us. Now, that I'm heading back, I move into a two-story
apartment, where we live with only two of us and the rent per person is 500
dollars per month. It's reverse in Estonia - living in a dorm is noticeably
cheaper.
What are you planning to
do after you graduate?
I'm not
sure yet, there are so many options. Right now, I'm planning to go into
engineering and work and developing new technologies.
What would you say to do
those who doubt the possibilities of getting far or flying high from Kohila
high school?
I'd say that it
all starts with setting the direction, figuring out, what you want and what you want
to achieve. The next step is simpler, you just have to figure out how to get
there.
Kohila
school offers really good opportunities for studying. I was helped a lot by
different extra courses and extracurricular activities that were offered. If
you know, where to go and what do you want to learn, then you can find many
possibilities for improving yourself. When I went to Tartu University, I didn't
notice a difference between students, who came from rural areas and students,
who had finished an elite school.
-Esne Ernits
