School Pointes
Kristin Krier will be attending the University of Michigan pursuing a career as a computer programmer. Kristin’s dream is to create a website with free mathematics tutorial videos which would be available to help students from all backgrounds be able to understand math. She stated, “Throughout my math education, I have seen my peers struggle with not only course content but seeking help for their questions. This has often created negative feelings toward math and other STEM courses."
“My plan to major in computer science and mathematics will give me the knowledge and skills to make this tutoring website a reality,” Kristin added.
Ana Todesco will be attending Johns Hopkins University to become a biomedical engineer. Ana’s dream is to create a functional heart organ from stem cells and tissue regeneration. Through combining her passions for helping others and problem solving, Ana hopes to have a successful career as a biomedical engineer. Ana is “amazed and excited about the process of tissue regeneration.”
“Tissue regeneration in the biomedical engineering field has yielded countless successes like creating artificial bladders and mini-kidneys,” she said. “From problem-solving opportunities to aiding millions of people worldwide, creating an effective, lab-grown heart would be a dream.”
Molly Wysocki will be attending Boston College, pursuing a career as a health data scientist. Molly’s dream is to create a swaddle complete with a heart and oxygen sensor so parents can hold their child in a neonatal intensive care unit. Molly says that her “goal is to work professionally on a project that I have some personal connection to, and I’ve already begun my journey toward that goal.”
In class, using the resources of the Cotton Innovation Center, Molly decided “to create a device for the neonatal Intensive Care Unit, as it was my home for the first eleven weeks of my life. My mother expressed the difficulty of holding me as an infant with the attached wires always in the way…”
“I hope to design future technologies that better the lives of new families and decrease the overwhelming emotional toll that comes with having an infant in the NICU,” she added.
Olivia Yoo will be attending the University of Pittsburgh pursuing a career as a medical doctor. She chose this because she always excelled at biology and chemistry and because medicine is challenging and involves helping people. Olivia’s dream invention is a device that could read and regulate chloramine levels in a pool to protect swimmers. Olivia has been a competitive swimmer since she was five years old and has experienced what other swimmers face during indoor competition and for a few days after – heavy coughing. Chloramines cause this and are produced during swim meets from the swimmers’ bodies combining with chlorine in the pool. Olivia says that her “innovation would read the chloramine levels in a pool facility, and warn users when said levels are too high.”
“With a device like this, swimmers could take control of their situation,” she added.
AAUW’s mission is to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy.
Last Tuesday, Brownell WEB leaders met with their fifth graders one last time, playing spoons and reflecting with each other about the school year. On Friday morning, the future WEB leaders – current seventh graders – were trained in the annual “Spring Play Date” by the current eighth grade WEB leaders and WEB co-advisers, Tracey Corden and Sharon Drew. They learned and practiced the activities in preparation for orientation with the new incoming fifth graders in the fall. Then, in the afternoon, eighth-grade WEB leaders were thanked and celebrated for their successful year with a picnic and fun at the Farms Pier Park.
At Parcells Middle School, WEB leaders met with the fifth graders about twice a month throughout the year. During these meetings, they engaged in fun activities that often taught a strategy for success in school, according to program co-adviser Marci Charuba.
"They sometimes got together to just talk and work on coloring activities, giving the fifth graders time to talk to their mentors in a relaxed environment," Mrs. Charuba said.
After leading end-of-the year activities, the WEB leaders reflected on their experiences as mentors to the younger students.
“It was really rewarding to watch my Webbies grow,” Liv Snead said. “And they were growing with me, as a team.”
“WEB has taught me leadership in the best way possible, by hands on working with the fifth graders,” Lauren Loper said. “My Webbies have shown me how important our example is to influence the future Panther leaders.”
“At orientation day, I saw a student who was looking lost, so I took him around to make sure he got to the right group,” DJ Edwards said. “Another kid was crying, and I told her there was no need to worry – all the teachers are all really nice here.”
James moved to Grosse Pointe when he was 3 from Evanston, Ill., attending Richard Elementary, Brownell Middle School and then Grosse Pointe South. As a senior, James was named to the first team all-conference, first team all-area, all-state and Dream Team. He also competed in baseball as a freshman and was a three-year member of the track and field team. He was captain of the football team his senior year and was a member of both the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.
James credits his coaches for his athletic accomplishments, including South’s head varsity football coach Chad Hepner, who then served as defensive coordinator and linebacker coach, in addition to his track and field coach.
“The thing that I appreciate about these people is they volunteered their time,” he said. “They easily could have charged for their services; most people probably would have. They saw something in me that I didn’t even see in myself and that’s why I will forever be grateful for them.”
James is also grateful to Miles and Terrence for their positive influence.
“They’re a year older than me,” he said. “They taught me the way on how to be a college athlete. They also pushed me to be better because they saw something special in me that I could be.”
James currently attends Valparaiso University, where he is a linebacker on the football team and had his debut against Butler University. He is majoring in communications with a minor in film. He is particularly enjoying the commentating aspect of sports broadcasting and hopes to weave his love of storytelling into the sports documentary process.
“Creating narratives is one of my favorite things to do,” he said. “I love covering teams and being able to tell people’s stories because I think everyone has a unique story to tell. To have that platform to give to other people to share that story can really inspire and change people’s lives.”
Miles’ family moved to Grosse Pointe when he was in the fourth grade. He spent his fourth and fifth grade years at Maire Elementary before attending Pierce and then South.
Miles started playing football in seventh grade with the Red Barons. He played on the varsity football team at South as a sophomore and served as captain his junior and senior years, winning all-region and first-team all-conference honors as he helped lead the team to win three conference championships as the team MVP. In addition to earning three varsity letters in football, he earned four in wrestling and was a three-year wrestling captain at South.
Miles, too, describes a strong relationship with Coach Hepner.
“We’re talking, eating lunch together, and hanging out with his kids and talking wrestling and BBQ,” Miles said.
Miles also played in the school band from fifth grade through his senior year. In fact, he was able “to continue the musical journey” as well as his athletic career at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he studied trumpet under a music professor and played football for two years until he transferred to Ball State University, where he is majoring in sports production.
Miles hopes to combine his interest in food – his family owns Bert’s Entertainment Complex in Detroit – with the art of storytelling and narrative documentary work, drawing relationships between his home life and food.
Terrence started at Maire Elementary in kindergarten and attended Pierce and then South. While he began in the Red Barons program in fourth grade, he took a break his eighth-grade year, returning to the sport his freshman year.
While playing football at South, he received many accolades, including two-time Academic All State, First Team All-MAC White, and Second Team All-Conference. He also participated on South's track team and competed in states in the discus event.
Terrence is majoring in cognitive neuroscience at Brown University, which he describes as a blend of psychology, neuroscience and computer science. The defensive end saw action in several football games his freshman year, including against Harvard and Princeton, but the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID. Terrence took a gap year and returned to Brown last semester. Having worked hard to stay in peak condition, he is looking forward to next year.
All three alumni look forward to reuniting each summer at the football camp, which they hope to make an annual event.
“We thought no matter where we go and no matter where life takes us, in that last week in June it’s something that always brings us together," James said. "That’s the special and unique part of it, that we have an opportunity to make a difference and create a change in our community.”
