Journal staff report

And what did you do with your summer?

As recipients of scholarships from John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, four Friday Harbor middle and high school students spent theirs taking advanced coursework at Seattle University.

Madeline Schroeder, now a junior, studied international politics, while freshman Hayden Mayer, playing goalie on the high school soccer team, immersed herself in a course called “The Physics of Sports”. Then there were eight-grader Finn Cullen and freshman Yasmin Sarah, both of whom dove into the  principles of engineering design.

The summer before, Yasmin, a former local spelling bee champion, took a course entitled “Whodunit? Mystery and Suspense in Literature and Film” after being awarded a prior Hopkins Center Rural Connections Scholarship. She was one of only 40 students in the nation to receive that award.

Mayer beamed about her summer studies.

“It was truly a fantastic experience,” she said. “I learned more about physics in three weeks than I learned in one year at school.” Sarah and Cullen were equally delighted about the summer Seattle University academic camp.

Gifted students are encouraged to apply for the CTY Talent search, a springboard to taking the college preparatory SAT test in grades seven and eight. If a student’s SAT scores qualifies them for the Center for Talented Youth, they become eligible throughout middle and high school years to attend summer course through the CTY summer programs and online.