MIT Class of 1956 News

Scholars 2006-2007

The Class of 1956 continues its support of two siblings in the Class of 2009 who came to MIT from Springfield, Virginia. Their bios (right), reflect who and where they were a year or more ago, and have been amended to include more recent events in their scholastic pursuits and life journey.
Your donation to the Alumni Fund can be designated for this purpose by specifying "Class of 1956 Scholarship Fund" when you give.

Abigail Clark '09 received her secondary education in a home schooling environment, and participated in a wide variety of educational and extracurricular activities. During the past two years, she was dual-enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College where she served as a student government senator and chaired several campus-wide committees. A Dean’s List student, she was elected to membership in Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year schools. She also co-founded the Student Debate Group, served as editor-in-chief of the student yearbook, participated in international competitions through the USA Junior Spacemodeling Team where she won both individual and team awards, competed in both swimming and gymnastics, and once ranked 14th in the nation in the 200-meter individual medley. Abigail tutors children at a homeless shelter in Arlington, VA, and is an active participant in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for life. She is considering a mechanical engineering major at MIT, but wants to explore brain a cognitive sciences and biology. She enjoys tennis, skiing, photography, drawing, pottery, jewelry design, childcare, and fashion design and modeling in her spare time. Her career plans include a joint M.D./Ph.D. program for research.

Update, November 2006
Abigail Clark ’09, now a brain and cognitive sciences major, spent her summer participating in the competitive swimming, taking a course in differential equations, and volunteering with Project Success, a program for teenagers in local public schools. At MIT, she is a member of the varsity swim team, the Undergraduate Association, and the Society of Women Engineers. Among her varied interests are rocketry, beading and debate. Her career plans include medicine, teaching, public policy and administration, artificial intelligence, and earning an M.D./PhD.

Like his younger sister, Samuel Clark ‘09 received his secondary education through home schooling and dual-enrollment at Northern Virginia Community College. He served as a student government senator, a campus representative to the Virginia State Senate, editor-in-chief of a campus newsletter, co-founder of the Student Debate Group, and in various leadership roles for Phi Theta Kappa honor society and the Society of Physics Students. A National Merit finalist, he participated as a member of the USA Junior Spacemodeling Team for international competition and placed sixth in the world in 2004 for a team design of a radio control rocket glider. He also has competed on the state level in gymnastics. He enjoys tennis, biking, skiing, fossil and gem collecting, photography, and computer gaming. He is considering a double major in biology and chemistry at MIT, with a minor in bio-engineering. His career plans include a joint M.D./Ph.D. program for research science or an academic career.

Update, November 2006
This past year, Samuel Clark ’09, a brain and cognitive sciences major, participated in a synthetic chemistry Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program project in the Danheiser Chemistry Lab. During the summer, he took time to recover from an illness and attended classes at Northern Virginia Community College. He is a member of the Undergraduate Association Student Committee on Education Policy, and volunteers at a shelter house. His interest include teaching, photography, building computers, and hydroponics. He plans to pursue an M.D./PhD in toxicology, and a career in public health policy.

Previous Class of 1956 Scholarship Recipients

Last modified December 9, 2006 by Webmaster (TGuy@aaalum.mit.edu)