SALISBURY – A Wicomico County student has been nominated by a Nobel Prize winner to attend a national academy later this month.
Wicomico High School student Aniya Brinson, who will be entering 10th grade in the fall, will attend the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists’ annual Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders from June 29-July 1 in Lowell, Mass.
The Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders is a national academic honors program that gathers the nation’s best and brightest future science and technology leaders who possess leadership potential and a desire to contribute to the fields of science or technology. Any high school student nominated must have a minimum 3.5 GPA, either current or cumulative, to attend.
Brinson said she was chosen for the academy through an in-classroom survey.
“Honestly, before now I didn’t know about it until I was nominated for it through a survey I had completed,” she said. “I guess they decided to nominate me for it.”
Brinson was nominated by Nobel Prize winner John Mather, the academy’s science director, and will be representing Wicomico County Public Schools at the three-day assembly later this month.
“I’m kind of shocked,” she said. “I did not expect that to happen at all. I feel like they could have chosen anybody, but they chose me.”
Brinson said she and other delegates from across the nation will have the opportunity to hear presentations from college professors, award winners and leaders in the science and technology industries, as well as participate in various S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Math and Engineering) activities.
“The part that makes me excited is the fact that I don’t know what to expect,” she said. “I don’t like to go into things expecting anything. I like the surprise. I feel like I will come out of this program a different person with a whole different perspective on life.”
Brinson explained the academy will allow her to further pursue her interests in biology.
“I’m going to get a degree in biochemistry and after that I’m enlisting in the military,” she said.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help pay for Brinson’s travel expense to the annual conference. To donate, visit gf.me/u/jatqvs.
