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The Inspiring Story of Three Sterling Scholars Who Simply Love to Learn
Description
They were already excelling in math and science in second grade. By the time they hit high school, their love of learning was paying off, paving the way for a very promising future.
On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with three Herriman High School students. All three are Sterling Scholars in STEM and recently recognized for their incredible achievements in math and computer science.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. They were already excelling in math and science early in elementary school. By the time they hit high school, their love of learning was paying off even more, paving the way for a very promising future. On this episode of the Supercast, we sit down with three Herriman High School students. All three are Sterling Scholars in STEM and all three were recently recognized statewide for their incredible achievements in math and computer science.
We're here at Herriman High School meeting our Sterling Scholars and we're now talking with Madelyn. Madelyn, introduce yourself.
Madelyn:
Hi, I'm Madelyn. I'm the Skilled and Technical Sciences Sterling Scholar at Herriman High.
Anthony Godfrey:
Skilled and Technical Science. Talk to me about what that entails.
Madelyn:
So for me, it's a mix of woodworking and computer science. I use mostly computer science, that's what I wanna go into in my career. But I also do woodworking and that also uses a lot of computer science. Like for example, on the CNC machine in the wood shop, which cuts wood pretty much, I use like code. You put the code into the computer and so the machine knows what to do. So stuff like that is my passion.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. So you just blew my mind very quickly. Woodworking and computer science are two things I don't necessarily put together and they're definitely not a part of my normal day. And what did you call the machine? A C+C Music Factory?
Madelyn:
A CNC machine.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, a CNC machine. And tell me what the CNC machine does again, and how that relates to computer science? You're programming the machine to cut the wood in a certain way?
Madelyn:
Yes, pretty much that's it. So yeah, you just type it into the computer and it does what it's supposed to do. It cuts the wood into the shapes you want it to be.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Time to set modesty aside. Why do you think you're the Sterling Scholar in this area?
Madelyn:
I feel like I'm a strong scholar just because I'm so well rounded. Like I do theater, I do FBLA, I do business, I do karate. Like I do just a lot of different things. And then the thing is that like, I'm really passionate about like, computer programming, wood shop, business and stuff. I feel like that kind of like, set me higher. And so yeah, I feel like that's why I got the Sterling Scholar.
Anthony Godfrey:
That is quite a combination of skills. Which of those do you think you want to pursue the most?
Madelyn:
I would say computer programming. That's definitely where my passion lies. I wanna go into data sciences, which is like database development and stuff like that at UVU. And so that's my plan.
Anthony Godfrey:
How does someone your age get turned on to database science with the passion that you just expressed?
Madelyn:
Well, I first got into like computer science and database, I think it was like sophomore orientation. We were like walking around the gym and all the different like tables and stuff and I saw some robots. I'm like, 'yo that's cool.' And so I went to talk to the teacher and he convinced me to take one of the classes. And so I just started taking coding classes throughout high school. And then just this semester I took a database development class and I was