Let’s call the 2020-2021 school year what it was–it was hard! That doesn’t mean good things weren’t happening. We learned so many new skills, we focused our efforts on the essentials, and we practiced some agile thinking and problem-solving. Great things are happening for our graduates, too. We are already hearing from our class of 2021 that their Academy foundation is helping them to build a successful undergraduate experience–from landing rare, undergraduate research/lab positions to being named to college advisory boards.
Beyond the awesome emails we are receiving from our graduates, we are hearing from university deans about our students’ success as researchers in college. Most recently, we’ve received word from Dr. Keith Mellinger, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Mary Washington, that Alexander Fernandez, MSA Class of 2018, presented at the UMW Jepson Summer Science Institute. During the event, he shared his work, completed under Professor Lamphere in the biology department, titled “Morphological Changes in Non-Native Fish Species Influenced by Differences in Upstream and Downstream Habitats.” Way to go, Alexander! We remember when he presented his senior project at the planetarium and are so proud that his desire to learn, research, and publish his work to benefit others continues.
Beyond college, our students are emerging as field leaders–even in such crazy times as the past two years. This past summer, we learned that the MSA’s very own Alex Stern was making headlines. Click the image below to read more about the next step in his journey. He’s accomplished so much since his senior project exploring how businesses use big data and data science–now he’s applying his talents in the NFL!
