Winner in Science on March 27th, 2011
Samantha, a senior, is a top student who is motivated to learn why and how things work. She excels in physics, chemistry and math. She holds a 5.32 weighted grade point average and scored 34 on the ACT. She earned a 2020 on the SAT and has been named an AP Scholar. She made 790 out of 800 on the SAT Chemistry subject test. Her senior course load is daunting. It includes AP English Literature, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics and AP Chemistry, plus a few other subjects like her favorite, Robotics. She is the head of the mechanical division of the schools FIRST Robotics Competition Team. She designed the manipulator for the team’s robot entry into national competition. Growing up with a machine shop in her garage, Samantha learned machining from her father. This background has been a boon to the Robotics class and to the team. She is the backbone of the group spearheading their work and inspiring confidence. Samantha won the Junior Lighthouse Scholar Award, the Naval Research Award and was a semifinalist in the Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. She received the Honors Chemistry Award and was the district representative in the National Chemistry Olympiad. She participated in the CBU Engineer Competition designing and machining a dual-fuel tank CO2 car. She also received the Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award. In addition, Samantha is a member of the National Honor Society, National Latin Honor Society, Beta Club, M Club and Mu Alpha Theta, the math honor society. She is an active leader on the varsity basketball team, Student Ambassador and photographer for the yearbook. Since math and science are second nature to her, Samantha often tutors her peers in calculus, physics and chemistry. She has been a teaching assistant for the middle school students.
