Some moments in life present opportunities for events to come full circle, for all the pieces to fall into place and form a whole so much more than the sum of its parts. And sometimes role models really do get to meet the next generation they have inspired. When Garden City High School Class of 2011 Valedictorian Jan Gong stepped into the office of U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize Laureate Dr. Steven Chu in Washington, D.C. on June 21st, both moments became a reality.
Jan, an accomplished high school senior who was in the Capital to accept the U.S. Presidential Scholar Medal from Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Secretary Chu, a distinguished alum of the school district, conversed quietly with the familiarity common to those who have never met, yet share the same hometown and public school education. Certainly much has changed at the high school in the decades since Dr. Chu played on the tennis team and tinkered in the science labs, but the soon-to-be-graduated Valedictorian and Intel Finalist and the world-renowned alum enjoyed their brief time together sharing stories. “I explained a little bit about my science research,” Jan recalled, “and he told me about his background and family and growing up in Garden City. He was extremely kind and it was amazing to finally meet such an inspiring role model!”
The fifteen-minute meeting came to fruition after months of coordination and with the determined assistance of Albert Einstein Fellow, Michael Kennedy, a high school physics teacher from Naperville, Illinois. Mr. Kennedy has served in Washington for the 2010-2011 academic year as one of 32 Albert Einstein Fellow recipients whose role is to advise the various arms of government on ways to improve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in public schools across America. “My experience of being an Einstein Fellow at the Department of Energy has been the most positive professional experience of my life,” Michael explained. “I have been able to learn so much about education and education policy. Also, as a result of my fellowship, I will be able to bring back many opportunities to the students of Illinois.”
Mr. Kennedy’s dedication to his students echoes the sentiments of Secretary Chu, Garden City High School class of ’67, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997. The award brought much notoriety to Garden City Public Schools and to the Laureate’s physics teacher, Mr. Thomas Miner. In fact, in a video on Teach.gov, the website for the Obama Administration’s national teacher recruitment campaign, the scientist credits Mr. Miner for planting the seeds and forming the habits of mind that inspired the research work that led to his Nobel Prize (http://www.teach.gov/why-teach/be-leader#).
Chu’s parents moved to Garden City back in the ’60s for the excellence of the public schools, but the Secretary is quick to point out that he was not the academic star that his older brother Gilbert was – class valedictorian and now biochemistry professor at Stanford – or his younger brother Morgan, a renowned litigator who earned four advanced degrees before age 25. However humble his beginnings in Garden City, the Energy Secretary has brought climate change issues to the forefront on Capitol Hill, been an outspoken force for responsible energy use, and served as a proponent of nuclear energy.
Jan, like Dr. Chu, has brought much notoriety to the district with her many academic, athletic, and musical achievements. She has been a fan of Secretary Chu and his passion for science research. In January, when Jan was named one of this year’s Intel Science Talent Search Finalists for her work with glucose uptake and addiction, Dr. Chu’s office responded: “As an alumnus of Garden City High School, Secretary Steven Chu would like to wish congratulations to Jan Gong and Garden City High School on her accomplishment of being named as an Intel Finalist. Quality teachers are one of our most precious resources. The lessons they teach can influence the ambitions and outlooks of their students for a lifetime. I know my high school physics teacher, Mr. Miner, has had a profound influence on my intellectual development. He pushed me to fulfill my potential and taught me a learning process, not just a set of facts. Good luck to Jan Gong in her future scientific endeavors.”
The congratulatory email came from Michael Kennedy’s computer at the Department of Energy and, subsequently, efforts began between the school district and Mr. Kennedy to coordinate a meeting of the hometown prodigies. A first meeting in March failed when Jan was in Washington competing as an Intel Finalist. But the timing couldn’t be worse – the Intel finals took place immediately after the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown at Fukashima when Secretary Chu was addressing the media daily on issues of nuclear safety in this country. Undaunted, Mr. Kennedy continued efforts for a meeting when Jan returned to the capital for the Presidential Medallion Awards Ceremony in mid-June.
The high school senior was accompanied for part of her second stay in Washington by Dr. Steven Gordon, the teacher she nominated as “most inspiring and challenging.” On June 20, Dr. Gordon received the Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education for his role in Jan’s education. Thanks to Mr. Kennedy’s efforts, Dr. Gordon was included in the meeting with Secretary Chu.
After an hour’s nervous wait on the appointed date, Jan, Mr. Kennedy, and Dr. Gordon were escorted into the Secretary’s Independence Avenue office. Jan surprised Secretary Chu with a present of a monogrammed polo shirt from the high school and a letter explaining his impact: “You have truly been a role model for me. When I first learned that there was a Nobel Laureate who graduated from Garden City High School, I was very interested and read your story about growing up in Garden City and your work using lasers to cool and trap atoms. I later began to pursue scientific research myself and have had three extremely rewarding experiences working with professors and conducting independent research in the fields of neurology, statistical genetics, and chemical biology. I now plan to continue pursuing research in the future, and I want to let you know that you are an inspiration to me, as well as to many other Garden City High School students who are interested in science and mathematics.”
Perhaps with portent, the Secretary showed Jan his Nobel Prize during their meeting. The symmetry is striking, the Garden City Nobel Laureate and the high school student named an Intel Finalist and U.S. Presidential Scholar within the same year, the only student from Long Island to be so honored, how might this mentor inspire a student with Jan’s potential?
At the end of their meeting, the two shook hands and parted company — Dr. Chu onto top-level meetings, and Jan with the seeds of what can be accomplished by someone who walked the same public high school hallways fresh in her mind.
Jan will begin her studies at Harvard University in the fall with a 10-year goal of obtaining an M.D. or Ph.D., and to make “a contribution to medical science.” In her meeting with Dr. Chu, Jan has, no doubt, closed a circle of community commonality that just may inspire the young scholar to infinite heights.
In his Teach.gov “Be a Leader” video, Secretary Chu challenges America to “Inspire a generation. Teach.” His message has all the more meaning as a role model and mentor inspiring students like Jan, and teachers like Michael Kennedy and Dr. Steven Gordon.
The district extends its gratitude to Secretary Chu for taking the time to meet with Jan and Dr. Gordon, and to Michael Kennedy for making it all possible.
