The next time you think your schedule
is a bit too full, try to imagine being Christina Waite, Alexia Stettinius, Joe
Osgood or Luke Sutton. This quartet of Susquehanna Valley High School seniors
can teach us a thing or two about juggling time. But that didn’t stop any of them from adding
something else: an online Calculus II course offered by Monroe Community
College, which they all aced. Yes, four As.
"We enrolled in the course for the fall semester, spending our last period each day in a computer lab, exploring new concepts and discussing what we learned,” Christina Waite explained. “The course was a great success – we each earned an A, and readily declared last period to be our favorite.”
“They worked hard, supporting each other, and did very well in an extremely tough course,” said their guidance counselor Mark Browning. “They did this despite having little to no study hall time and 3-4 AP courses to stay on top of."
Then a question arose: what would they do during their second semester? The students knew they wanted to continue to focus on calculus, so they decided to create AP Calculus AB review videos. This endeavor would allow them to continue broadening their understanding of calculus while helping others along the way. The four students began the filming process Monday, January 11 (SEE PICS OF THE FILMING) and have now posted the first in a series of instructional videos online. It’s called AP Calc Review: Intro to Limits, and you can see it HERE.
UPDATE: The second video in the series is finished and posted HERE.
Remember that this work is in addition to a pretty beefy schedule. Waite, for example, is a member of the varsity soccer and track teams, is very involved in the high school’s music ensembles, is a member of Peer Leaders and the National Honor Society, and volunteers at Lourdes Hospital. Recently, she was selected for the New York State Band Directors’ Association Honors Band, an ensemble of students from all over the Empire State. She is preparing for a three day NYSBDA festival in Syracuse. Waite has a 103 GPA, which includes AP Physics C, AP English, AP Government and AP Biology.
Stettinius is tackling the same four AP courses, along with soccer, cheerleading, music ensembles, Honor Society and dance. Sutton’s agenda includes three of the four AP courses – he’s already taken AP Physics C. In the fall, he secured first place in the Section IV Class C boys’ cross-country finals. The champion runner also excels on the indoor and outdoor track teams and is a star on the Mathletes team as well. Osgood is a very busy New Visions student who is – among other things - a member of high school music ensembles, an Eagle Scout, and a leading actor in the high school’s drama club Saber Stage Productions. Last year, he played the title role in The Wizard of Oz, and this year will take on the role of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. Add film-making to his list of many skills: it’s Osgood’s filming and editing work that you see in the AP Calc review videos they’re producing.
As for their future plans, not all are decided on which schools they will attend, but three of the four - Waite, Sutton, and Stettinius - will be Pre-Med. Waite plans to major in biology and possibly minor in psychology or cognitive science. Sutton plans to study biochemistry at Geneseo. Stettinius will also be pre-med, possibly majoring in physics with a minor in biology. Osgood has his eye on engineering at RPI.