ARKANSAS TIMES ACADEMIC ALL-STARS
MATH, TENNIS, DOGS — SHE FITS ALL IN
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argaret Anne Beetstra reads ancient Greek, tutors calculus students and spent last summer researching life expectancy factors for the state Health Department through a scholars’ program at Arkansas Children’s MAGGIE BEETSTRA Hospital. She’s lived in four states, she rescues abused dogs, AGE: 17 and she serves meals at Stewpot. Not only is she a memHOMETOWN: Albuquerque, N.M., ber of seven academic and community service clubs, she’s and Little Rock president of two of them, and she captains her varsity tenHIGH SCHOOL: Episcopal Collegiate nis team. It’s obvious that, at only 17, Maggie’s a whiz with PARENTS: Stephen and Joan Beetstra time management — which is great, because next year she COLLEGE PLANS: Georgia plans to juggle college tennis with a full course load and Tech, Washington University, some to-be-determined undergraduate research project. Northwestern University, Rice Maggie knows her priorities, though. “I love tennis, but University or Agnes Scott, applied tennis can’t be my life. I definitely want to do undergradumathematics ate research, and if I don’t study applied mathematics, I’ll do chemistry or neuroscience,” she said. Among her academic achievements, Maggie is at the top of her class, has a 4.52 GPA and is a National Merit semifinalist. Joan Beetstra, Maggie’s mother, is amazed by her daughter’s work ethic. “With school and tennis, it’s just the hours she puts in,” Joan said. “I’ve never seen anyone who power-studies the way she does ... she’s also good at thinking on her feet, which really works in her favor.” Maggie considers leading Honor Council the most noble of her sundry activities. “It’s the most prestigious club at our school,” she said. “It’s our job to enforce the Honor Code that every student signs. It can be tough, having to inform one of my peers that there are serious consequences to their behavior, mostly because students are remorseful and regret what they’ve done.” In dealing with her peers, Beetstra applies principles she learned through working with her family’s rescue dogs: “I’m an only child, so these dogs are my siblings. They teach me to be grateful, they teach me unconditional love, they teach me that everyone deserves a second chance.”
MODEL STUDENT
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oseph Berleant is a computer whiz and lifelong cellist with plans to head off to Pasadena’s Cal Tech this fall. (For the record, Cal Tech just became the first university to beat Harvard for the title of best school in the world, according to the London-based “Times Higher Education.”) The Central High senior recently received his acceptance letter, and he’s still giddy. “It’s such a good engineering JOSEPH BERLEANT AGE: 18 school,” he said. “I want to go into computer science, but HOMETOWN: Little Rock that ties in so closely with other types of engineering. Being HIGH SCHOOL: Central High at Caltech will give me a good opportunity to keep up with PARENTS: Daniel Berleant and what’s going on in all forms of engineering and physics.” It’s Joy Liaw no surprise that Caltech wants him. Joseph scored a perfect COLLEGE PLANS: California Institute of Technology, computer 36 in math on his ACT, with a composite score of 35. This science year he took a course in differential equations at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, since he took AP calculus, the highest math Central offers, his junior year. He has also designed a computer program that more efficiently models plants. The program took top honors at the state science fair and advanced to the international Intel Science Fair in Los Angeles. Currently, Joseph is working on a paper detailing the program, which he hopes to present at the Bionanotox 2012 Conference. If his paper is accepted, he’ll be a rarity — a high school student among graduate students, professors and think-tank types. Though his achievements are far beyond high school, Joseph is down-to-earth and committed to his school and his community. In addition to being treasurer of Junior Civitan, a Central High volunteer club that pitches in everywhere from the Salvation Army to Wildwood Park, Joseph is in six other clubs and honor societies, he’s a National Merit semifinalist and he plays with the Arkansas Youth Symphony. Last year, he won the Arkansas ACLU Bill of Rights essay contest with an essay about First Amendment freedoms of gay and lesbian high school students. He’s taken 21 Advanced Placement classes, which means, depending on Caltech policies, he could have a major head start on his freshman year. Joseph should be right at home next year among the world’s brightest engineering hopefuls.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
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his summer Jean Corbitt is going to Turkey as part of Centre College’s summer enrichment program. She’s almost as excited about that as she is the fact that, as a Brown fellow at Centre, her college career — or at least, tuition, room and board — are entirely covered. As the daughter of two philosophy professors (her mom is at JEAN CORBITT Hendrix, her dad is at University of Central Arkansas), AGE: 18 she chose the small Danville, Ky., liberal arts college HOMETOWN: Conway because, she said, “I wanted to take classes in a lot of HIGH SCHOOL: Conway High subjects and be with people with way different majors School West from mine. It’s a bigger perspective for learning.” Jean PARENTS: Peg and Douglas Corbitt COLLEGE PLANS: Centre College, loves English and history. In fact, her team qualified for undecided major the National History Day competition four years in a row. Her ninth grade year, her team won second place with a skit about Jackie Cochran, who founded the women’s air force training program during World War II. The team got to perform the skit at a congressional breakfast in Washington, D.C. — one of Jean’s proudest moments to date. Jean came to international politics a little more cautiously. Last summer through a Duke Talent Identification Program, Jean spent a week in the Netherlands, which included an extensive tour of The Hague. When she came back, she signed up for Model UN. “All of the super-powers were taken, so we chose to represent Afghanistan,” she said. Through researching the country’s policies and conditions Jean realized “how much we take for granted ... education for women, a peaceful transfer of power ... things I just assume should happen.” In addition to her academic achievements — Jean is a National Merit semifinalist, ranked second in her class, will graduate with a dozen A.P. classes and has a 4.30 GPA — she is first-chair trumpet in her school’s symphonic band, and she founded a jump rope team at her former elementary. “We teach the kids tricks and choreographed routines to help them feel special and give them confidence,” she said.
OUT IN FRONT
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ach Ford is the drum major of the Har-Ber High School Band. He patiently explained to a questioner the responsibilities of a drum major: He makes sure that the band stays together in its playing. He teaches marching techniques to the incoming 10th graders. He gives “very vocal” commands to the band while it’s on the march. When Zach isn’t drum majoring, he’s ZACH FORD AGE: 18 the leader of the Har-Ber Band’s percussion section. HOMETOWN: Springdale But when asked about significant achievements, he HIGH SCHOOL: Har-Ber mentions not the band, but working as a volunteer at PARENTS: Phil and Shawna Ford the Miracle League in Northwest Arkansas, a baseball COLLEGE PLANS: Duke, league for special-needs children. “Seeing the joy on mathematics the face of a child who has been told that they cannot play sports because of their disability is enough to make anyone get out of bed on a Saturday morning to go out and play ball,” he writes. Academically, Zach ranks first in a class of 481. He’s the Student Council president, a Quiz Bowl competitor, a member of the National Honor Society, manager of the basketball team, a runner on the cross country and track teams, and a participant in his school’s production of the musical “Anything Goes.” Besides his work with the Miracle League, he helps lead services at the Westside Church of Christ, is a Junior Rotarian, coordinated a fund-raiser for a children’s charity, and organized the annual Christmas caroling event for Har-Ber students. He’s been an all-region musician for five years, and an all-state musician for two. He won the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Outstanding Youth Award.
www.arktimes.com
APRIL 25, 2012
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