 Surrenthia
Parker
(MS)2 1979
An orthopedic surgeon at Chicago’s Mount Sinai Hospital, Surrenthia
Parker is often asked about the roots of her career. How did a petite
black woman from a disadvantaged background end up working in a prestigious
field dominated by brawny white men? She always starts her answer
by saying, “There was this program called (MS)2… .”
She begins there, she says, because she considers (MS)2 the “defining
experience” of both her professional and personal life, one that
persuaded her she could compete aggressively even in the most chal-
lenging environment. “You
leave (MS)2 thinking you can conquer the world—and you can,”
she says. A Chicago native, Parker dreamed of being a laboratory technician
before being tapped for the inaugural class of (MS)2, where her horizons
widened. Later, she became the first (MS)2 graduate to serve as a
teaching assistant in the program. A graduate of Brown University
and the Howard University Medical School, she recently became president
of the (MS)2 Alumni Association. |
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 Lynn
Harth Baldwin
(MS)2 1980
“I cannot say I would not have gone to MIT had it not been for
the (MS)2 program,” Lynn Harth Baldwin says, “but it surely
was a big factor in my making that decision.” A Chicago native,
Baldwin now resides in the Fort Worth, Texas, area, working in hazardous
materials safety for the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.
“(MS)2 teaches you that if you really want something badly enough
and you have enough faith in yourself, there is nothing you can’t
do,” Baldwin says,
noting that, by serving as mentors and positive role models, graduates
can improve not only their own lives, but the lives of others. “Every
time a student graduates from the (MS)2 program and goes on to college,
it breaks down a stereotype and creates a better environment for everyone.” |
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Roderick
Watts
(MS)2 1984
Indianapolis native Roderick Watts holds a B.S. degree from Purdue
University and a master of science degree in electrical engineering
from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Currently he works for Thomson
Multi-media, Inc., of Indiana as a senior member of a team producing
high-end direct TV satellite receivers, among other products. “The
(MS)2 program was a life-changing and life-enhancing experience for
me,” he says. “In addition to exposing me to a strong and
rigorous academic curriculum, the program instilled in me the courage
to be the best I could be in my endeavors and provided me the insight
to apply for admission to the top universities in engineering.”
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 Cecil
E. Talbott Jr.
(MS)2 1986
Cecil “Chip” Talbott comes from Kentucky. He has a bachelor’s
degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree from Georgia
Tech in industrial engineering. Currently he lives in Washington,
D.C., where he works as a technical sales engineer and manager selling
test and measurement equipment. “Louisville is a great city to
grow up in,” he says, “but your focus tends to be somewhat
regionalized. Coming to (MS)2 and meeting people from other places,
and discovering I could hold my own among students who were going
to Ivy League schools or to Stanford, really changed my perspective.
It gave me a foundation to build upon when I found myself dealing
with new situations and new people.” |
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Stephen
Roberson
(MS)2 1995
As one of the top students in his K-12 classes, Stephen Roberson always
knew education would be his ticket to a better future. Yet, for him,
(MS)2 provided a “wake-up call,” he says. What did he learn?
“I learned that I was not necessarily the smartest black person
I knew. I learned that physics is a little more than Newton’s
three laws. I learned that race matters and racism is still among
us. I learned about seizing the day, making the most of every opportunity
and living life without regret,” he says. Today, Roberson, who
received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Florida A&M
University and an M.S. degree in physics from Michigan State University,
is a Ph.D. candidate in applied physics at Texas A&M. He referred
to this summer’s (MS)2 celebration as “a family reunion,”
saying in anticipation of it, “I am going to see my family one
more time.” |
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| Ted
Sizer, PA’s 12th headmaster, and his wife, Nancy, enjoy the anniversary
festivities for (MS)2, which he helped to establish a quarter century
ago. |
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 Sue
Rodriguez
(MS)2 1995
It’s a long trip from the Dominican Republic to Brown University,
but that’s where Sue Rodriguez found herself after moving to
New York City at age 11 and being recruited for (MS)2. When she joined
the Andover-based program, it was the first time she had been away
from home. “(MS)2 made college easier for me,” she says,
noting it
was there she learned to use a graphing calculator and to handle a
rigorous math and science curriculum. Rodriguez attended Brown University,
where she received a degree in mechanical engineering, and she has
been both a teaching assistant and a master teacher at (MS)2. In the
2000-01 academic year, she was a teaching fellow on the faculty of
Phillips Academy. Now a resident of the Bronx, N.Y., Rodriguez is
a mechanical engineer at Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., one of the nation’s
largest environmental firms. |
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 Mishone
Donelson
(MS)2 1996
Raised by his grandmother and great-grandmother in Memphis, Tenn.,
Mishone Donelson was skeptical about leaving home to spend three summers
in faraway Andover. But Donelson felt his own high school wasn’t
pushing him enough, though he held leadership positions and was involved
in community service. “The teachers had very low expectations
for us,” he says. “(MS)2 taught me a lot about myself and
enabled me to develop academically.” Since graduating from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. degree in chemical
engineering, he has developed polymer products and won awards in chemistry.Cur-rently
he is a consultant for Accenture in Atlanta. Deter-mined to see other
students of color realize their aspirations, Donelson worked in MIT’s
admissions office as a student, assisting with minority recruitment
efforts; today, he helps promote (MS)2 to likely candidates. “(MS)2,”
he says, “has given me the energy to help others close the gap
between dream and achievement.” |
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Jorge
L. Reyes
(MS)2 1998
Chicago-bred Jorge L. Reyes, a senior at Stanford University, spent
this past summer as an intern at Merck Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey.
Of his (MS)2 education, he says, “Not only was it distinguished
by academic rigor, but it completely changed the system of teaching
I was used to. At (MS)2, you are working in the lab instead of reading
from the textbook. You are trying to discover new proofs, you are
using technology, you are using computers, you are using calculators
in order to achieve the skill that you need to perform well in the
real world, where textbooks are just used as reference. I remember
in my first-year biology class at (MS)2 we read journal articles on
genetics experiments, then we went into the lab and tried to reproduce
them. Those are experiences you do not get in a regular high school.
Whenever I am teaching someone something, I try to use that method:
I have them attempt to build upon what they know to discover on their
own the thing they are looking for.” |
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Gerardo
Garcia
(MS)2 2001
“The best thing I learned at (MS)2 is responsibility,” says
Gerardo Garcia, who entered Syracuse University this fall in the hope
of becoming an architect. Attending (MS)2 for three summers, the Chicago
native says he learned to pick up his room, to manage his own homework
and to seek help when he needed it. “The amount of work they
gave you was ridiculous, but you could always catch up in help sessions
after class. I really learned time management,” he says. The
hard work paid off. When he began to apply to colleges, Garcia found
that college admission interviewers looked favorably on his participation
in (MS)2. “Every time I mentioned (MS)2 to college reps,”
he recalls, “their eyebrows would go up.” |
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