TAMS student selected to participate in Presidential Classroom

Julie Whitis, a student at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, has been selected to participate in this summer's Presidential Classroom Science, Technology and Public Policy Program.

Open to high school juniors and seniors with a grade point average of "B" or better, the program gives students a firsthand look at the political responses to change brought about by scientific advances.

Whitis is a first-year student at TAMS, She will travel to Washington, D.C., June 16-23 to take part in the program, which will include seminars presented by military, government and media representatives. Students examine a variety of topics, including environmental quality, space exploration, disease control and telecommunications, and they tour the White House, a foreign embassy and senators' and representatives' offices.

"I feel very honored and excited about the program," Whitis says. "I'm looking forward to getting an inside view of Washington, DC, and meeting other students who have similar standards and goals."

Whitis attended Florence High School before enrolling in TAMS last August. She

said she enrolled to gain access to more opportunities for learning.

"I was seeking an environment of higher learning with students who have the same academic priorities and wishes as I do," she says. "I like the friends I've made here and the opportunities that have presented themselves."

Named to the dean's list during her first semester at TAMS, Whitis is a member of the TAMS Key Club and vice president of student affairs for the Academy Ambassadors, an organization that helps to recruit new TAMS students. This summer,

she will be a volunteer laboratory intern at the Smithsonian Institution before and after participating in the Presidential Classroom.

Whitis plans to apply to Georgetown and Columbia universities to finish her bachelor's degree after graduating from TAMS in May 2002. Her career goals include working for the Smithsonian Institution or the United Nations.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkoslti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Governor signs UNT-Dallas bill
• Pohl says thank you for inauguration, festivities
• Regents approve admissions policy modifications
• Goven named interim vice provost for research
• Tornado season: Keeping an eye on the sky
• McTee receives Guggenheim Fellowship to write symphony
• Elm Fork Explorer's Camp registration deadline nearing
• Totten receives Dewey Medal from ALA
• Staff awards presented

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