STENTORIAN
VOLUME XXXVI, ISSUE 1
NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
AUGUST 2016
New Faculty and Staff Include
Alumni Back on Campus
By CLAIRE YIN
Alumni play a major role
in NCSSM’s success, as they
support the school by making
donations, volunteering, and
contributing to the school’s
reputation.
But several alumni choose
to give back another way:
by employing their skills
to improve the school’s
academics. This year, NCSSM
welcomes four alumni as
faculty and staff members.
Jason Lineberger, who
graduated in the class of 1990,
joins NCSSM as an instructor
of 21st-Century Media
Studies and Ecocriticism, two
NCSSM Online courses. A
veteran teacher with 22 years
of experience, Lineberger is
a National Board Certified
educator who has been
a teaching fellow at the
University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, a digital
learning coordinator for
Cleveland County Schools,
and a technology trainer for
the North Carolina Teacher
Academy. Furthermore, he
has had experience teaching
NCSSM Online courses in the
past.
From the class of 2004,
Justin Fleming is an IT analyst
on campus. He attended
UNC-Chapel Hill, where he
received a B.A. in political
science and history and
provided tech support for the
university. Then, he worked
for Apple and for five years
at MIT. After moving back
to Durham in 2013, Fleming
worked at the Duke School of
Medicine in IT support.
Brent Kitchen joined
the physics department in
February. After graduating
from NCSSM in 2008, he
attended North Carolina
State University, where he
received his master’s degree
in mechanical engineering,
earned his bachelor’s degree
in physics, and is now
working towards his Ph.D.
Kitchen has been a physics
lab manager at NCSSM since
February, but he will continue
to contribute as an instructor
and _ computer programmer,
algorithm developer and
builder of mechanical and
electronical performance
measuring devices.
Last but not least,
Scott Schwartz is a 2006
NCSSM alum and received
his bachelor’s degree in
psychology and biology at
UNC-Chapel Hill, and then his
master’s in professional school
counseling from Appalachian
State University. Before
coming to NCSSM, Schwartz
interned in the NCSSM
counseling department, then
served as a school counselor
and taught numerous courses
regarding students’ emotional
and. academic challenges.
Now, after having worked
as a counselor with NCSSM
summer programs, he will be a
counselor on campus.
Three Student Life
Instructors will be joining
the new faculty and staff on
campus. Jewel Dale will replace
Vanessa Ponce as the 1C2C1D
SLI, Wesley Morris will succeed
Michael Newbauer as the 1st
Hunt SLI, and Leah Pompey
will assume the position of 2nd
Beall SLI after the departure
of Jonnell Carpenter. Having
joined NCSSM last year as
an SLI on Royall, Emerson
Rhudy will now take on new
responsibilities as a Residential
Education Instructor.
Additionally, Laura Baker
Campbell has joined NCSSM
as executive assistant to
New faculty and staff visit the Fabrication Lab.
ti»NCSSM
the chancellor; the NCSSM
mathematics department will
welcome Sandie Shoe as a
program assistant and William
Hall as instructor of the Pre-
Calculus and BC Calculus with
Advanced Topics courses; and
the science department will
now include Megan Aldrup-
MacDonald as an instructor
of biology. Amber Kendall as
an instructor of physics, and
Erin Quinlan as an instructor of
environmental sciences.
The department of Distance
Education and Extended
Programs (DEEP), will welcome
Kendall Hageman as its director.
Hageman will be joined in her
department by new instructors
Rex Jeffries, Amanda Martyn,
and Kathryn Wall.
New humanities teachers
include Carrie Alter as an
instructor of studio art; David
Hill as an instructor of
American Studies, British
Literature and Culture, and
Film Studies; and Ormand
Moore as an instructor of
American Studies and Poetry
Writing.
Nicole Collins-Givens
and Lacey Hudspeth will
assist in providing evening
library services, instructor
Rebecca “Bee” Conrad has
joined the Fabrication Lab
as a laboratory technician,
Jamie Hawthorne has
joined the human resources
department as a consultant,
John Mruk has joined
Campus Security, and the
housekeeping department
will welcome Mike West
and Ronnie Woods, both of
whom have already worked
at NCSSM.
Summer Research Internship Program a Success
By CLAIRE YIN
Eveiy year, NCSSM takes
advantage of its location in
the Research Triangle by
providing students with an
opportunity called the Summer
Research Internship Program.
Spanning over five weeks
during June and July, the
program is available to rising
seniors through an application
process. This past summer has
demonstrated the growth of the
program: participants included
over 100 NCSSM residential
rising seniors, an NCSSM
online student, two students
from the Louisiana School of
Math, Science, and the Arts
(LSMSA), and even a student
from Croatia.
Many students traveled
every weekday from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. to work under mentors
and as interns at various
locations, including Duke
University, the University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, North Carolina State
University (NCSU), North
Carolina Central University,
and Lenovo. There were
also many who worked from
campus alongside NCSSM
research instructors.
Many other programs may
have high fees for a similarly
intensive and unique
experience, but boarding
is completely free for all
participants at NCSSM.
The program is
multidisciplinary, allowing
students to discover and
pursue various passions
through real-world
experiences.
Though some students
may apply to the program
for a subject in which they
have extensive knowledge,
many venture into new
fields. At NCSU, senior Sam
Chen studied the synthesis
of organic molecules that
interact with light. Chen
says that although he
“walked into [his] research
knowing little to nothing
about organic chemistry, [hej
found [himself] learning each
and every day about both
the fundamental principles
surrounding the project and
how to think like a chemist.”
Yet, Chen acknowledges that
he still has “quite a bit more to
learn.” Through the NCSSM
Mentorship program, he will
be able to travel to NCSU
during his senior year in order
to continue his project.
Similarly, senior Max
Kremer applied to the program
through the Mentorship
program. Kremer enjoyed his
experience at Duke University,
learning about not just particle
physics, but also the research
process. He noted that he and
other students “had to wrap
our minds around the idea that
research is not a standard course
where you receive grades based
on assignments, because instead
of repeating an answer that is
known to be correct, it is your
job to pursue that answer.”
The opportunity allowed him
to conduct his own experiment
while working with high-tech
equipment. Kremer attended
talks by many post-doctoral
researchers and graduate
students gave talks, giving him
“exposure to many unique areas
of physics” that he otherwise
may never have discovered.
Though all students gained
knowledge through their
research and internships, some
were awarded even more for
their work. Senior Christa
Parrish studied psychiatric
neuroengineering at Duke
University. Parrish recalls her
last day of research, during
which her mentor “tried to
be chill and tell [her] that...
[she] was going to be missed
NCSSM.KDU
116 students participated in the 2016 NCSSM Summer Research
Internship Program.
- nonchalant, obligatory
comments like that. But right as
he was walking out of the room
he said [to her], ‘Oh by the way,
your name is getting put on the
publication.’”
Senior Alexis Cambridge
was one of the two students
from LSMSA. After Cambridge
tried to find a mentor at Duke
University, an LSMSA alumnus
and current Duke employee
recommended the summer
program. Though she had
to travel nearly a thousand
miles, Cambridge “really
enjoyed meeting the students
from NCSSM and talking
about the similarities between
[their] schools, as well as the
differences. At first [she] was
a bit nervous as [she] didn’t
know anyone, but everyone was
so inviting that [she] quickly
made friends. Of course,
[she] enjoyed gaining the
lab experience and doing
research of [her] own at
Duke. Overall it was a great
experience, made even better
by the welcoming students at
NCSSM.”
Sarah Shoemaker, the
research and mentorship
coordinator, played a large
role in helping students find
these opportunities. Though
the program has been going
on for years, it has grown
significantly, and may
continue to do so in coming
years. The application for
the summer of 2017 program
will be available to the class
of 2018 around late winter.