Blogs > Liberty and Power > The Future Joe Piscopo Comedian Award

Jan 31, 2005

The Future Joe Piscopo Comedian Award




I currently serve on my university's selection committee for its Tier 1 Scholarships—the very highest incoming student scholarship we offer. It includes full tuition remission, a complimentary laptop computer, and even some “walking around” money.

The students in the running for this scholarship are extremely impressive, usually having ACTs 33 or higher, SATs 1450 or higher, and GPAs 3.75 or higher. Schools around the country are trying to land them.

One of the candidates wrote in her application essay that she would like to become a biologist. She discovered her interest in biology when she attended one of the summer classes offered by Duke University for gifted pre-college-age students. She did so well in the class that the instructor awarded her top-student honors. Here’s the incredible part: the award she received was the “Future Rachel Carson Award.”

The Future Rachel Carson Award? Rachel Carson, the author of the now-exploded
Silent Spring as a model for future biologists?

Another applicant reports that his high school biology teacher told him that if he’s serious about learning about biology, he needed to read Carson’s book—and the student reports that Carson’s book indeed inspired him to one day become a biologist.

What’s next? The Future Joseph Stalin Statesman Award? Or maybe the Future Karl Marx Economist Award? Or . . . .


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