Unionville High School students Michael Iacocca and Katelyn Tsai.
EAST MARLBOROUGH — Two Unionville High School juniors will spend this July at two prominent Pennsylvania universities after each was selected as one of approximately 60 other students to participate in prestigious science and business programs.
Katelyn Tsai will spend four weeks with students from around the country and world attending the Pennsylvania School of Global Entrepreneurship hosted by the Iacocca Institute at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, and
Michael Iacocca will spend five weeks in Pittsburgh with students from around the Commonwealth, having received a full scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Both programs are designed to bring together highly motivated and talented high school students for the purpose of providing opportunities for academic and practical enrichment that is not available through the typical high school curriculum.
Tsai will devote her time to learning about entrepreneurial business development and innovation by spending time in the classroom with Institute faculty and guest lecturers, and she will get to learn about the practical application of those classroom concepts by taking part in workshops and case studies with local business leaders and organizations. The program is designed to provide insights and opportunities to those students who have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to share and develop that with other students around the country and around the globe.
Iacocca will spend his five weeks attending science classes taught by Carnegie Mellon University faculty and staff, as well as instructors from neighboring universities like University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne, and Robert Morris Universities. In addition to classroom lectures, participants get to attend a lab of their choice, where they have access to state of the art scientific equipment and the experienced, knowledgeable instructors of the host university. The students must also complete a comprehensive group project in one of the science disciplines offered during the program.
Tsai, whose top school is Brown University, became interested in entrepreneurship from her volunteering activities. Seeing such disparity between rich and poor, she chose to attend the summer program to learn about what it takes to start as business. Tsai plans to use the skills she will learn to further her entrepreneurial spirit and intends to start a non-profit company in the near future, one that would help improve the lives of those in her community who are less fortunate. She is an active student, who along with her rigorous academic courses finds time to be the current news editor and the Editor-in-Chief in waiting for The Indian Post, the UHS school newspaper; one of the captains of the Speech and Debate team; a Co-Founder and Board Member of the UHS Democratic Club; a Student Council Representative; a Co-Founder and Vice President of the UHS Red Cross, and a Teaching Assistant at Math Plus, a local math tutoring program.
Iacocca, who hopes to attend Carnegie Mellon University, is looking forward to the extended visit to the university, as well as experiencing the intensive academic rigor for which the Governor’s School is renowned. Iacocca has accelerated his science and math courses since Middle School, having completed several independent studies to do so, and is looking forward to the scientific challenges the program offers. Iacocca is a member of the UHS Academic Team, the Math Team, and the Speech and Debate Team. He is also a member of the Study of Exceptional Talent, a program run by the Johns Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth. In addition to his academic achievements, Iacocca is working on his Eagle Scout Project this summer so that he can earn his Eagle Scout badge with Boy Scout Troop 22.
