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'There is still so much to learn'DURHAM, Jun 05, 2011 (The Herald-Sun - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The top-notch education earned at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics is just the beginning, Joseph DeSimone emphasized to the Class of 2011. Now, it's time to further that knowledge and put it into action, implored the keynote speaker at the public, residential magnet high school's commencement exercises Saturday. "You need to accelerate what you have started here," said the UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University chemistry and chemical engineering professor. "Our state and our nation need your help." DeSimone, also founder of Liquidia Technologies and the 2008 recipient of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, said it's important for the students to apply their research to scientific entrepreneurship and find ways to stand out from the crowd in a world of increasing global competition. He stressed the need to adapt and continue to learn. "The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004," he said. "We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, to use technologies that haven't yet been invented." The students appear to be on the right track, with this year's graduating class claiming $21 million in scholarships -- the largest sum ever, said NCSSM Chancellor Todd Roberts. Under a canopy of towering trees on the campus's Watts Lawn, NCSSM graduate Maili Frances Lim, chosen through an essay competition to address her 330 classmates, urged them to continue reaching for the sky. "We stand here today because of a hunger coursing through our veins -- a drive that springs from the modest realization that there is still so much to learn," said the future UNC student. First coming to the Durham campus from all corners of North Carolina two years ago, she said much has changed in their time here. "In our small towns, we were on track to be good, but we came here to be great, and it was our humility that lent us the strength to pick ourselves up off our feet and carry on, to try again as new and determined versions of ourselves," she said. "It gave us the chance to spread our wings, flying higher than ever before." Part of what makes NCSSM unique is the fact that it's residential, with the students -- many of whom are just 16 when leave the comfort of their families -- creating surrogate families with their teenage classmates. "It's kind of like overwhelming, realizing that it's come to an end," said graduate Jordan Allen Firn, originally from Wadesboro. He'll attend Seattle Pacific University in the fall. "You know, you spent two years here, basically independent from home. And now you're going to go on, going to take the next step and be completely independent from everybody." Amanda Foster, of Pamlico County, said it's a bittersweet feeling to say goodbye to her high school years. "It's exciting to be able to say that you accomplished graduating from a school like Science and Math and you were able to get through these amazing, rigorous courses," said the future N.C. State student, "But it's also a sad feeling because you have made so many amazing friends throughout all your time here, and you know that you'll be leaving them." To see more of The Herald-Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.heraldsun.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Herald-Sun, Durham, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |