WHAT DO PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY ABOUT PROJECT MEGSSS?

Parents:

• No where in my son’s life has he had peers that were as excited and impassioned about math as he is, or teachers that could introduce him to ideas that challened him in a deep way. He gets so excited by the concepts and frameworks he has never encountered before. His homework is finished before I even think to mention it (and trust me, this is not the case for most of his schoolwork!). I really believe that knowing his MEGSSS class day is coming, helps him get through the mundane and give him a vision for the rest of his academic life.
• The highlight of the program was the care and interest that the teachers invested in the students. The care and investment in the students was obvious from the first day when I met the teachers. You have a gifted group of teachers!
• What she got from MEGSSS was a love of math, a confidence that she can learn any math, and a sense that math is valuable. She brought her own hard work and persistence.

Alumni:

• I participated in Project MEGSSS from 1991-1994. I just finished by Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering this past December, and after the graduation ceremony, my parents and I were reminiscing about some of the experiences I had in middle school and high school that led me to pursue my degree. The three of us agreed that it all started with MEGSSS and logic classes… Project MEGSSS obviously helped me develop an interest in math and science which was reinforced in high school, but more importantly than that, Project MEGSSS taught me how to form and argumen and think critically about a problem. My ability to express ideas clearly has been one of my greatest strengths ever since then, and it most definitely helped me to write my dissertation.
• So glad to hear the MEGSSS program is still going! I attended for several years in the 1980’s when it was an up to six-year program. It was a great experience and was my first opportunity to meet peers who were much smarter than me! I went on to attend Northwestern University (computer science), and Loyola University Chicago School of Law. All of that was not nearly as mentally stimulating and challenging as my time in MEGSSS!! My fond regards to the teachers!!
• I am an alumnus from MEGSSS from many, many years ago. I am a Forsyth School graduate from 2000, and graduated from John Burroughs School in 2006. I attended a summer session from MEGSSS during the summer of 5th and 6th grade. I have been thinking about my experience at MEGSSS lately, and found your website. I just wanted to update you on what your alumni are doing several years after the program. I am a graduate from George Washington University with a BA in International Affairs, with concentrations in Africa and Conflict and Security, with a minor in History. I am currently a saffer for a US Congresswoman in her office on the Hill in Washington DC. As I remember, MEGSSS is an extremely well-run program that allowed me to enter John Burroughs excellently prepared for the rigorous mathematics course load I undertook. To this day, I don’t know how I ended up in the program. I don’t see my self in any way possessing “extraordinary gifts in mathematics,” but I feel very fortunate that I was able to benefit from the program.