Wood River High School junior Sierra Dawn Money has been accepted into a prestigious summer program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass. Those accepted attend free of charge, and pay only for their transportation to and from Boston.
High school chemistry and physical science teacher Matt Phillips recommended Money for the six-week program called Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES). It is a rigorous residential, academic enrichment summer program for high school students interested in studying and exploring careers in science and engineering.
Phillips praised Money for being a critical thinker with emotional maturity. She is articulate, poised and driven toward excellence and higher education, he said. Her intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm toward learning and ability to overcome challenges make her an excellent candidate for the June 19-Aug. 1 program, Phillips said in his recommendation.
The national program stresses the value and reward of pursuing advanced technical degrees and careers while developing the skills necessary to achieve success in science and engineering. MITES is rooted in MIT's belief in the importance of students from diverse populations pursuing higher education.
Other People and Places
· Rory Donald, son of Dr. Ross Donald and the late Katherine Donald of Ketchum, graduated May 8 from UCLA School of Law and the Anderson Business School, with a J.D. and M.B.A. He graduated from The Community School in 2000 and Harvard University in 2004. He has accepted a position at the Bingham Law firm in Los Angeles.
His brother Graham Donald graduated May 17 from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine with an M.D. degree. Graham is a 2001 graduate of The Community School and a 2005 graduate of Columbia University. He is starting the General Surgery Residency at UCLA School of Medicine in June. Graham was chosen to receive the Ethics Award for graduating seniors.
Dr. and Mrs. (Kim) Donald attended both ceremonies.
· Army Pvt. Marvie C. Catangcatang has graduated from nine weeks of basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. She is the daughter of Rylen and stepdaughter of Claudio Sierra of Cozy Circle Meadows in Ketchum. The private is a 2009 graduate of Hailey's Wood River High School.
· Former Wood River Valley students Tracy Chubb, Alex Hamlin and Drew Stoecklein graduated May 9 from Montana State University in Bozeman with Bachelor of Arts degrees. Chubb graduated with honors in fine arts, Hamlin with honors in film, and Stoecklein with a B.A. in photography.
· Oregon State University in Corvallis will graduate one of its largest classes ever during the school's 140th commencement ceremony Saturday, June 13. Among the graduates, both from Ketchum, are Joselin Matkins (Master of Science, forest science) and Johanna Olson (Master of Science, exercise and sport science).
· Cale Nottingham, son of Katy Nottingham of Hailey, graduated May 16 from the University of Idaho with a Bachelors of Science degree in psychology, with an emphasis on human physiology. Cale also made the Dean's List for the College of Arts and Letters for the 2009 spring semester at the Moscow college.
· Brandon Briscoe, a summer Sun Valley resident and son of Sun Valley City Council member Dewayne Briscoe, has been awarded an MIT International Science and Technology Initiative Internship to study in Israel this summer. Brandon is a junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in mechanical engineering and economics. He will do research on his thesis, "The Economics of Energy."
· Amanda Harris, daughter of Scott and Charlotta Harris of Sun Valley, has been named to the Merit List at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio for the first semester of the 2008-09 academic year. A Community School graduate, Harris is a rising senior majoring in biology and economics.
· Hayden Seder, a 2006 Wood River High School graduate, has successfully completed a semester with the International Honors Program as part of her junior year at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y. The program, called "Cities in the 21st Century," took 35 students from U.S. colleges to Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam, where they studied urban planning. Seder will return for her senior year at Sarah Lawrence in September.
