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Poland students earn spots in prestigious programs
POLAND
Artificial intelligence, robotics and cancer research.
They’re the topics of world-class, innovative research – and ones that two Poland Seminary High School students will tackle after earning spots in selective and prestigious programs.
Seth Hammond, a junior, will spend two weeks this summer at Cornell University, where he will participate in a program titled “Fabricating the Future: Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.” He’s one of just 50 students from around the country to earn a spot, he said.
During his time at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, N.Y., Hammond will learn how to program and build robots. He’ll take campus tours, hear lectures and learn about topics such as artificial intelligence and nanotechnology.
He hopes the visit will help prepare for his future, possibly as an undergraduate student at Cornell, which he says is a top choice for him.
“It’s definitely a unique experience regardless of whether I go to Cornell for college. I’ll take away beneficial information and life experience, in this field and outside the field,” he said.
Jacob Jeges, also a junior, is one of 100 students nationally out of nearly 1,200 applicants to receive the inaugural Emperor Science Award, which is administered by PBS LearningMedia and Stand Up to Cancer. Students in the program are paired with scientists to work on multiweek cancer- research projects, and receive Google Chromebooks and $1,500 stipends.
Jeges said he was floored when he found out he’d won.
“It’s quite an honor. I didn’t really think I would win when I submitted the essay,” he said, smiling. “I didn’t really believe it at first.”
Hammond wasn’t surprised by his acceptance to the Cornell program, as he met all of the (steep) qualifications and made sure to get his application turned in well in advance.
That Hammond and Jeges submitted applications at all impresses Beth Queen, head of the high-school science department and teacher to both students.
“I’m impressed with the level of motivation the students have, because this was just an optional thing I made them aware of,” she said.
She hopes their experiences will have a ripple effect at the school.
“I’m hoping they’re going to bring some of that excitement back their senior year,” she said.