TAMS students named Coca-Cola Scholarship finalists

Lindsay Cameron and John Yandell, students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at UNT, have been selected as finalists in the 2001 Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation competition.

Established in 1989, the foundation provides scholarships to high school seniors who have excelled academically; demonstrated motivation to serve and succeed; held leadership positions in school, civic and extracurricular activities; and have strong personal character.

Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 students throughout the nation are chosen as semifinalists in the program each year in December. In March, 251 of these students become finalists and are guaranteed at least $4,000 scholarships.

Cameron and Yandell are both second-year students at TAMS.

They will attend a Scholars Weekend in Atlanta April 27-29, where the 251 finalists will compete for 50 $20,000 scholarships.

Yandell attended Klein High School before entering TAMS in August 1999. He is a member of the McConnell Hall Association and the TAMS chapter of Key Club, and editor of the TAMS student newspaper. He volunteers for a nursing home through Key Club and also provides service through Christian Community Action.

"It's nice to be named a Coca-Cola finalist because I'm being recognized for all the activities I've done the last couple of years," Yandell says.

A National Merit finalist and member of the UNT Dean's List, Yandell was one of 10 Texas students selected as semifinalists for this year's Intel Science Talent Search, the nation's premier program to recognize high school student research in science, mathematics and engineering. Yandell was recognized for developing a mathematical model of the flow of oxygen through the bloodstream to muscles, a project he conducted at the Institute of Exercise and Environmental Medicine, part of Dallas' Presbyterian Hospital. Better understanding of this process could lead to a possible cure for oxygenation diseases such as diabetes, Yandell says.

He is also among 265 high school students in the nation selected for a Signature Award from the California Institute of Technology. The CalTech awards recognize students for innovative and creative thinking or problem solving, motivation to go beyond what is required or expected, and curiosity and joy of discovery in mathematics, the sciences or related fields.

Yandell has applied to eight universities, including Stanford University, the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University, to finish his bachelor's degree after he graduates from TAMS in May. He plans to major in biology and eventually earn a medical degree before beginning a biomedical research career.

"I'd also love to work with the World Health Organization and be a doctor overseas," he says.

Cameron attended DeSoto High School before entering TAMS in August 1999. She is a member of the TAMS Student Life Advisory Board, the UNT chapter of Amnesty International, and Student Advocate Volunteer Educators, a UNT organization that promotes healthy sexual attitudes and behaviors. She volunteers with the YMCA and

the American Red Cross, and went to Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico, in December with other UNT students. The group cleaned up trash from beaches and spoke to elementary school children about recycling.

Cameron called being a Coca-Cola finalist "exciting."

"It's the top 0.23 percent of students in the United States. The other 250 students have to be some of the smartest people, and I'm looking forward to meeting them. I like talking to smart people," she says.

A National Achievement finalist, Cameron has received several scholarships and will be featured in a book about exceptional math and science students that will be published by Duke University in June.

She has applied to six universities, including Stanford, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia, to finish her bachelor's degree after she graduates from TAMS in May. She plans to earn an electrical or computer engineering degree and work for a government agency, preferably the National Security Agency or the Central Intelligence Agency.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

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