Of all the things she could have done on her summer vacation, Bithaniya Fieseha, a senior at West Springfield High School in Fairfax County, Va., decided to study chronic disease, mental health and contact tracing. Some of her friends didn't understand the appeal.
"I feel like people are like, 'You wasted your summer,' " she says. "But I enjoyed it. I really enjoyed meeting up with everyone, going through the struggle."
