Tell Us about Yourself
I am a high school senior at the STEM Early College at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A & T) and interning with Syngenta, a global agribusiness company.
What AEOP program(s) did you participate in?
High School Apprenticeship Program (HSAP)
Words of Advice?
I urge any student considering a STEM career to apply for one of the many AEOP apprenticeship programs. AEOP is a great way to discover a potential STEM career and make connections with current academics and scientists.
Best Things about the Program?
Through the High School Apprenticeship Program I was able to work with my mentor Ilki Kim at NC A & T. He was a fantastic mentor because he would spend hours on end teaching me and ensuring I understood what we were doing. I worked with LaTeX, a program that creates a specially formatted PDF document through a coding interface. I was able to use the knowledge and skills I learned in school during my apprenticeship which felt incredibly gratifying to me.
How Participating in AEOP Inspired You to Advance in the STEM Field?
Participating in AEOP has given me a head start and better understanding of what research and work looks like at the collegiate and graduate level. Reading several papers on thermodynamics allowed me to learn about the language academics use to communicate in the research world. I look forward to being able to contribute to this growing body of research through my future studies.
As a result of the program
My horizons were greatly expanded by the HSAP program. Before my apprenticeship, I had only considered a career in mechanical engineering. Through my apprenticeship, I was exposed to an entirely new field of study. Additionally, I applied for and was selected as a finalist for the North Carolina State University Park Scholarship, a scholarship which provides a full ride to NC State University based on evaluating the four pillars of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Without my experience in HSAP, my scholarship application would not have been nearly as strong as it was.
