I am a Physics and Mathematics major at the University of Arizona. I just had finished my sophomore year when RUSIS ?06 started. One of the most valuable things I take from the program is a much better appreciation of Probability and Statistics; how powerful and useful they are when applied to other sciences and how interesting and important its theoretical developments are. The research component of the program was especially successful in showing me that I can be involved in a serious research project even if I don?t have the strongest background in mathematics. It pushed me to study and learn material more independently.