Academic 411

ACADEMIC 411
4th–6th Grade Talent Search
2014 edition

Academic 411
2014 Edition
Dear Student,
As a Duke TIP 4th–6th Grade Talent Search participant, we are happy to provide you with the 2014 issue of
Academic 411.
In this issue, we focus on six major themes: academic competitions, service, reading, math and science, out of
school experiences, and more from Duke TIP. We hope that as you read the stories written by TIP students just
like you, you will become inspired to participate in after-school clubs, spelling bees, or science fairs; to experiment
with number games; or to read just for fun! These academically challenging experiences can help you develop
a variety of skills while you learn about topics that interest you. What’s better than improving yourself while also
having fun?
In addition to Academic 411, you also have access to other talent search benefits. For example, Duke TIP’s online
activities are great ways for you to keep learning about subjects that interest you. And you can access them
anytime from any computer!
• Unlock the keys to writing a great story with the creative writing lesson Story Writing: Spin Me a Yarn.
• Learn how to make and break codes, and harness the power of prime numbers with Number Secrets and
Secret Codes.
• Discover the world of energy—and the energy of the world—with Energy: Powerful Connections in
Chemistry, Biology, and Physics.
• Explore some of the world’s most important buildings and develop your design skills with Reinventions in
Architecture: Read, Draw, Build.
Access these lessons and the Duke TIP Book Club at www.tip.duke.edu/456tsbenefits.
You may also check out Duke TIP’s Independent Learning options, including Cryptology, Greek Mythology, King
Arthur, and Environmental Science. For more information, visit www.tip.duke.edu/learn.
If you have a story about your own experience that you would like to share in the next issue of Academic 411 or
any other suggestions or questions, please email 456talentsearch@tip.duke.edu. The Duke TIP staff and I are
always glad to hear from participants and their families.
We are all excited that you are a member of the Duke
TIP 4th–6th Grade Talent Search—you are on your way
to an outstanding future. Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Barbara McHugh
4th–6th Grade Talent Search Coordinator
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Academic Cometitions.........................1–4
Service................................................5–8
Reading.............................................9–12
Math and Science............................ 13–17
TIPsters Out of School.....................18–20
More from Duke TIP.........................21–22
About Academic 411
Academic 411, edited by Campbell Vogel, is published annually by Duke TIP, a nonprofit organization dedicated
to serving academically talented youth. For more information on Duke TIP’s programs and publications or to
request reprint permission, contact: Duke TIP, 1121 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27701, (919) 668-9100,
456talentsearch@tip.duke.edu, www.tip.duke.edu.
Copyright © 2014 Duke TIP—Duke University Talent Identification Program. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

academic competitions
A Mental Sport
If one’s muscles are not used, they lose their
former abilities; similarly, mental faculties are
diminished if they are not exercised. If you
are looking for more challenging work, academic
competitions allow you to study beyond the usual
coursework, which for many of you is probably too
easy. In addition you will gain a greater breadth
and depth of knowledge and comprehension in a
certain area. Through competitive mathematics,
I have studied, in preparation for the contests,
math that I would not have learned in school for
two more years, and some math that is rarely ever
taught in schools.
Truly, academic competitions can help you find your
intellectual limits and go beyond them. Academic
competitions also allow you to compete against
other students your age and can give you a sense
of where you stand against other bright students.
Many of you are probably at or near the top of
your classes by a significant margin. Some math
contests, like the American Mathematics Contest 8
(AMC 8) and the Continental Mathematics League
(CML) are written tests taken during or after
school. Others, such as MATHCOUNTS, occur on
Saturdays and take up most of the morning.
In a sense, competitive academics is a sport
requiring little physical strain but much mental
concentration and endurance. These
competitions will keep your brain fit and allow you
to develop your full academic potential. In addition
to the obvious academic benefits, there is a great
camaraderie among competitors. Most of the
contests, while of a serious academic nature, are
fun to take part in.
Winning a contest is only a small part of the fun,
although it is definitely more enjoyable to win after
you spent your time preparing for and taking a
test. In a sense, participating in these contests is
similar to your experience with Duke TIP, and the
best students I have competed against are, almost
exclusively, TIP participants. You can meet new
friends through competitive academics: friends
who share
your academic
motivation and
talent. These
competitions
also teach
determination
and goal setting
—setting a
goal in terms of
score or relative
placement,
working hard, and achieving your goal. Ultimately,
the non-academic benefits can be greater than the
academic benefits.
Because of your talent and ability to score high on
standardized tests, you are likely to perform well
in such competitions, although the real purpose
is to learn and have fun. Do not be discouraged
if other people deride you for competing in these
events. They most likely do so because they don’t
understand your talent and motivation.
I would strongly encourage anyone with a talent
in and an interest for academics to consider
competing in academic competitions. Your teachers
may be able to help you locate contests in your
area. Remember to keep your mind fit and consider
competitive academics as a challenging and fun
way to do so.
—James Rowan
7th Grade Talent Search participant
Duke TIP Bevan Scholar
Dallas, Texas
American Mathematics Contest 8 (AMC 8)
www.amc.maa.org
Continental Mathemathics League
www.continentalmathematicsleague.com
MATHCOUNTS
www.mathcounts.org
1

academic competitions
Worlds of Words: Competitive SCRABBLE ®
Are you the kind
of kid who
anagrams street
signs? Do you see a
stop sign and think to
yourself, “Pots, tops,
spot…?” Is your favorite
part of the newspaper
the Jumbles or the
crossword puzzle? If so,
competitive SCRABBLE
might be calling out your
name! If your school
doesn’t already have a
Eliza and Hannah
SCRABBLE club, ask a
teacher or parent to help
you start one—you won’t regret it! Our SCRABBLE
club competed together as a mixed-grade team
at the National School Scrabble Competition in
Orlando, Florida along with 100 other teams from
across the United States. We made new friends,
got all sorts of great prizes, and learned a bunch of
new words.
ELIZA: My first year of SCRABBLE competition
was as a fifth grader. I paired with Hannah and we
were the only team to beat the Windham Whiptails,
the team from New Hampshire that won the entire
competition and $10,000! Jimmy Kimmel even
mentioned us on his show—my friends all thought
that was really cool.
HANNAH: Our school club meets once each week
for an hour before school. We play games and
learn new words and tricks for memorizing words
(we’re supposed to write them in our SCRABBLE
journals, but I always forget mine). My mom is
the coach and she brings in doughnuts whenever
anyone beats her… that means she brings in
doughnuts a lot!
HANNAH: I first started playing SCRABBLE as a
fifth grader when I teamed up with my older brother
for the National School SCRABBLE Championship
in Providence, Rhode Island. We won a prize for
the highest scoring game—689 points!—and I was
hooked! I didn’t even know my two-letter words at
first, but now I know them all—from aa (volcanic
ash) to za (pizza)—and so many more, like
mbaqanga (an African dance) and zoeae (a larval
form of certain crustaceans).
Do you want to expand your vocabulary?
Duke TIP’s Independent Learning unit, Word Power,
focuses on the Latin and Greek prefixes, roots, and suffixes
upon which much of the English language is based. Read
more at www.tip.duke.edu/learn.
This book is written by Hannah’s
and Eliza’s mom, Katya Lezin, and
centers around some teens who join
the school’s SCRABBLE Club
2

academic competitions
HANNAH: My favorite SCRABBLE word is
whatchamacallit. I’ve never played it in a
tournament game because there would have to
be the right combination of letters already on the
board, but I love that it’s a legitimate word. You
can look it up in the Official Scrabble Players
Dictionary. And it would be very high scoring.
ELIZA: I like the word luau. It’s a good vowel dump,
and it was my favorite part of the NSSC in Orlando.
They had a luau and game night for all the players.
There I met Daisy, a girl from Canada, who has
become a favorite pen pal of mine.
If you want to start a club at your school, get more
information at www2.scrabble-assoc.com. You
can order a school SCRABBLE kit, find out about
other clubs and tournaments in your area, and get
all sorts of study tools and word lists.
— Hannah and Eliza Lezin
Charlotte, North Carolina
Here are some good words to know if you have too many vowels.
aa
ae
ai
oe
oi
eau
aeon
aero
agee
agio
ague
aide
ajee
akee
alae
alee
aloe
amia
amie
anoa
aqua
area
aria
asea
aura
auto
awee
beau ciao
ease eaux
eave
eide
emeu
epee
etui
euro
idea
ilea
ilia
inia
iota
ixia
jiao
lieu
luau
meou
moue
naoi
obia
oboe
odea
ogee
ohia
olea
oleo
olio
ooze
ouzo
quai
raia
roue
toea
unai
unau
urea
uvea
zoea
aalii
adieu
aecia
aerie
aioli
aquae
areae
audio
aurae
aurei
cooee
eerie
looie
louie
miaou
oidia
oorie
ourie
queue
uraei
zoeae
v o w e l d u m p s
3

academic competitions
Working to Achieve Goals at MATHCOUNTS
I
first became interested in MATHCOUNTS when
I was in sixth grade. At the time, the only place
I heard the term “MATHCOUNTS” was the
class that our school offered to people who were
struggling with math. However, I soon realized
that the club was different from the class, that this
club sent the actual teams to the MATHCOUNTS
competition in our state.
I went to the club meetings to try to get onto the
team, and I earned the second spot on the team.
At the chapter (regional) level of MATHCOUNTS, I
placed seventh at the regional level and eighth at
the state level. I was slightly disappointed at the time
because I did not qualify for the national level of
the MATHCOUNTS competition. (Only the top four
winners in each state advance to the national level.)
However, I kept working. The next year I placed
third in the state competition, qualifying me for
the national level. Interestingly enough, I was also
third among people in my school—our school had
taken the top three places at the state competition,
something we did not achieve even at the regional
level. At the national competition, however,
since it was my first overnight math competition,
I didn’t take it seriously. I goofed off and slept
and ate poorly. As a result, I was not at my best
the following day and finished far from my goal
of getting into the top 12. I spent the rest of the
competition feeling disappointed.
Then this year, at the regional and state levels, I
swept all areas of the competition and I led the
winning team at the state level, even though the
two other national qualifiers from last year were
now in high school and no longer on the team. I
could not have achieved this without the hard work
that I put into attending the afterschool and home
practices.
At nationals, I
encouraged my team
and my coach to
take practice tests
from previous years,
while many other
teams goofed off.
The next day, our
team performed
four places higher
than last year, and I
performed 17 places
better than last year.
I would have to say
the team practices helped a lot. My success that
day allowed me to enjoy the Disney parks without
feeling disappointed.
As you may notice, there is something that
crosses all of these years: effort and goals. In my
sixth grade year, I did not put in much effort, and
consequently I did not meet my goals. The following
year, I followed through with my goals until
nationals, when I started goofing off. The result: I
achieved my goals at the state level, but not at the
national level. Finally, this year, I worked hard to
achieve my goals all the way through the national
competitions. The point is, you have to work hard at
your goals no matter
how talented you are.
— Calvin Deng
7th Grade Talent Search participant
Duke TIP Bevan Scholar
MATHCOUNTS North Carolina
Individual Winner
Cary, North Carolina
Ready for a challenge that will change the way you think about mathematics?
Cryptology & Mathematics: Secret Codes And Number Secrets
Crack codes like a true cryptologist. Learn how to protect sensitive information by mastering prime factorizations, the
key word method, digital roots, and affine ciphers. Check out a sample lesson at www.tip.duke.edu/learn.
4

service
A Book Review Blog with a Mission
Working on a service project is one of the
best ways you can spend your time. From
feeding the needy, to helping build homes
for the homeless, or just providing a little support
to those who need it, service projects can be fun
and rewarding. But when I was in the fourth and fifth
grades, agencies kept telling me I was too young to
help them. In many cases, volunteers have to be at
least 13. So when I was in the sixth grade, I started
my own service project! Making your own project,
or just helping with one, can be awesome for many
reasons; however, I think several really stand out.
First, a service project can provide a fun way
to spend some free time you have, instead of
just goofing off or watching television. With my
service project, which is actually a website (www.
LittleSquirrelBookReview.org) that I created and
now edit, I can spend 30 minutes writing a short
book review and then 30 minutes or more working
on the layout or gadgets. Other service projects and
community projects can be just as fun. Many people
would consider going to a retirement home a really
boring thing to do, but if you do go there and spend
some time just talking with an elder, you have
really helped your community, and it’s actually quite
entertaining to talk to the residents for a couple of
hours. See how easy and fun working on a service
project can be, even before you’re 13?
Making your own service project can be
challenging, but it’s really fun as well. Let me
explain how I started mine. First of all, I love to
read, so when we were asked in sixth grade to
write book reports on every book that we read,
I thought: Why not go a step further? So I did. I
decided to put all of the book reviews I had written
on a blog that my friends could put book reviews
on as well. My mom helped with the initial set up,
and then I took it from there. After some time, it
was apparent that this could be a really good way
to earn money by monetizing the blog. After each
book report, I started putting a small advertisement
for the book I had written about. Now, if someone
reads the report, and then they think it sounds like a
good book, they can buy it. The blog earns a small
advertising commission—which I decided to give to
charity—from each purchase, turning my little book
review blog into a powerful fund raising service
project!
Unbelievably, these commissions really add up on
my book review “blog with a mission.” This past
school year, my blog earned $547 with the help of
my classmates. Together as a seventh grade class,
we donated the money to a local nonprofit which
our school’s student council had selected. I believe
that if Little Squirrel Book Review catches on, it
could be a great place for lots of students from
other schools to publish their book reports. The
more kids who visit my blog, the more money we
can donate to charity! Truly, I have really enjoyed
creating and editing my own service project online.
You could make one, too!
You could do one of a few things (or more, if you’re
REALLY enthusiastic). First, you could write your
own book review for your favorite book and submit
it to Little Squirrel. On the other hand, even though
it’s called a book review blog, we publish any type
of writing, not just book reviews. For example, my
friend Jake submitted a short story he wrote for
school. Other kids have submitted their poetry, and
we even have some essays. As for starting your
own service project, just do what you love and
maybe get your friends along for the ride as well.
I’ve found that it’s a lot more fun to work with friends
than to do it all alone. You can be the leader of your
friends and think of a fun service project that will
provide you all with a fun and helpful way to spend
your spare time, too!
—Thomas “Top” Lee
4th–6th Grade Talent Search participant
7th Grade Talent Search participant
Pawleys Island, South Carolina
5

service
Getting to the Root of a Problem
Sometimes small,
obscure things
change your life
forever. In my case it was
three tiny green leaves
nestled in a bed of dirt
that changed my life in
ways you couldn’t imagine
and, at the time, neither
could I.
When you think of third
grade, you most likely
think of the days you
waited all day for recess
or the days you learned
that unicorns and pixies
were not real, but rather
mythical creatures.
But normally what you
don’t think of is ending
childhood hunger. People
don’t always intend to do things. Sometimes they
are led down a path. I didn’t plan what was about
to happen. I followed a path and it led me on a
remarkable journey.
My journey began on a typical Tuesday morning
in February 2008. It was an average day. We had
lessons in math, language arts, science, and social
studies. Then, right before dismissal, my third grade
teacher, Mrs. Andrews, gave us each a tiny cabbage
seedling. The seedling was part of a huge program
called “The Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage
Program.” Third graders all across the country would
get little seedlings just like mine. We were instructed
to take the seedling home, plant it and care for it.
I did just that. I found a home for it in a sunny spot
in my backyard. I watched it grow and grow. Right
from the start, I knew my cabbage was special; so,
when deer were spotted in the neighborhood, I built
a cage to protect it. Those three tiny green leaves
grew into an amazing 40-pound cabbage!
I could have made a lot of coleslaw or cabbage
soup, maybe even served it up with rice. Then, my
story would end there and that would be that. But
I didn’t. I chose not to make coleslaw, cabbage
soup, or serve it up with rice; I chose to donate it.
Not donate it to friends or neighbors, but to a soup
kitchen. There, it would feed hundreds of homeless
people without a meal otherwise. These people
often wait in line for an hour for a meal. Sometimes
they don’t know what they will have to eat, but they
don’t care. For them, a meal is a blessing. This is
what I wanted, what I needed to do with my very
special cabbage.
It was a cool May morning when I followed my family
outside to harvest my 40-pound cabbage from its
home in my backyard. With a saw in my dad’s right
hand and my mom pushing the wheelbarrow out of the
garage, I eagerly helped remove the cabbage from the
ground. My dog watched excitedly from the window.
My dad sawed until we lifted the giant off the stem.
It was huge! A real Goliath! Then we heaved the
cabbage into the wheelbarrow for the trip to the back
of my dad’s truck.
Forty-five minutes later, we were at the soup kitchen,
Tri County Family Ministries. The soup kitchen was
a small house with picnic benches in the back for
the guests. But what struck me most was the line of
people streaming out of the front door. All of these
people were waiting for what might be their only
meal of the day.
We were quickly greeted by hugs from Ms. Sue,
director of Tri County. She was so genuinely excited
by my cabbage and the excitement built as she
called the volunteers over to see what I had grown.
I was invited to come back another day to serve my
cabbage to the guests of the soup kitchen after it
was prepared.
I eagerly walked into the soup kitchen the day
my cabbage was to be served. What was once
a 40-pound miracle was now a delicious meal of
cabbage and ham stew. For the next hour and a
half, I sat on a small wooden stool with the other
volunteers and served my cabbage to 275 people.
For the next couple of days, I thought about the
impact I had made. I thought about the people
waiting in the soup kitchen line. I kept seeing the
faces of the kids in line, kids just like me except
they did not have enough food at home to eat. They
needed help from people like me. I kept asking
myself “what’s next?”
6

service
The decision was easy. If one cabbage could feed
that many people, imagine how many people a
whole garden could feed.
A few weeks later when I came home from school, I
found a single sheet of paper from my mom on the
kitchen counter. It read, “Launch My Dream T-shirt
Design Contest,” sponsored by Amazing-Kids.org,
and asked, “What’s your dream?”
I thought about it for awhile. At first I thought about
things that I wanted for myself, and then it hit me.
My dream was not meant for me, it was meant for
others. My dream was to feed the hungry. Satisfied, I
grabbed the paper and went to find my mom.
For the next couple of days, I worked on a design
for a shirt. Finally I finished. I created a world with
people from all over holding hands. On the top of
the world it read, “My Dream…” and on the bottom it
read, “No Hungry Children.” Across the back of the
shirt it read, “Because it only takes a seedling,” and
had a drawing of a tiny seedling sprouting out of the
earth. I wrote an essay outlining my dream. I sent
the design and essay and kept my fingers crossed.
Not wasting any time launching my dream, I went
to my school and asked for their support. There
was one particular high school teacher who took a
lot of interest. He listened to me. He listened to my
dream. He didn’t see me as a fourth grader; he saw
me as a young lady with a dream and he wanted
to help make it, as he said, “come to fruition.” Mr.
Newman asked me to come to his classroom one
day after school. He told me he wanted to show me
something. We went for a walk across the school’s
campus. We walked up a long dirt path to a beautiful
sunny clearing about the length of a football field.
This, he said, would be my new garden. It was
beautiful and bright. Large trees encircled the plot of
land. It would make a perfect vegetable garden.
www.amazing-kids.org
Amazing Kids! was founded by Alyse Rome.
This online magazine is created and managed by
talented kids across the country. Be sure to visit this
website—it has lots of interesting news, contests,
and articles about kids like you!
It was at this point I knew I needed help. I had
support but I didn’t have the knowledge to grow
large scale gardens. Gardening was about more
than just putting a plant in the ground. I wanted
my gardens to be successful, so I asked for help.
Help came in the form of the most genuine person
I have ever met. Her name is Ms. Lisa and she is a
Clemson Extension Master Gardener. Ms. Lisa has
taught me everything I know about gardening, and I
am proud to say that I now know a lot.
It was shortly after that walk with Mr. Newman and
meeting my new master gardener that I received a
phone call from Alyse Rome. She explained to me
with great enthusiasm that she was the director of
Amazing Kids! and, out of the hundreds of “Launch
My Dream” entries, they selected my dream, my
entry, and my design as the winner. In no time at all
my design was available on T-shirts and hoodies.
Ms. Alyse explained she would be there to support
me and my dream. True to her word, she has been
there and she, along with Amazing Kids!, has given
me support and guided me down an extraordinary
path of the wonders of giving to others, lessons
of how to achieve your goals and opportunities to
make a dream come true.
After winning the Launch My Dream contest, I
was asked to write an article for a blog called “I
Never Grew Up.” I wrote about my cabbage and
how I wanted to expand my dream and plant more
gardens. A remarkable thing happened after I wrote
that article. It caught the attention of the general
manager of Bonnie Plants, the company that started
my dream by providing me with that tiny seedling.
He, too, believed in me and in my dream. He,
too, wanted to help me. Bonnie Plants would help
by donating hundreds of seedling to the garden
at my school, Pinewood Preparatory School in
Summerville, South Carolina.
With the help and support of Bonnie Plants, my
classmates, my school, my master gardener, and
Mr. Newman, I planted that garden at the school
with a crew from “NBC Nightly News” filming us.
Yes, they also heard of my dream and wanted to
document all those who believed in me. It would be
one of the biggest steps in launching my dream.
That garden would be the first of many gardens. I
now have numerous gardens that are located at my
Continued on next page.
7

service
Getting to the Root of a Problem (continued)
home, at my school, at my local homeless shelter,
on a farm, at my master gardeners home, in my
neighborhood and at Tri County Family Ministries,
as well as smaller gardens located in friends’ and
neighbors’ yards.
My story has taken me down a path that I never
intended to take but it has been a wonderful journey.
From my vegetable gardens and fresh vegetable
drives I have organized, I have donated thousands
of pounds of healthy food to people in need. My
story could be just about my dream but it is so much
more. It is about the people who have believed in
me, the people who have supported me, and the
people who are helping to make my dream a reality.
My dream is also about the people who have to
wait in line every day at soup kitchens around the
country. They deserve a healthy meal every day
and if I can help make that happen, I will. There
are times when the journey is difficult, like when
the vegetables get eaten by bugs or get a fungi,
but when a pen runs out of ink, you don’t stop your
story. You get another one and continue on. I will
continue on. I have started a not-for-profit company
called Katie’s Krops. The mission of Katie’s Krops is
to start and maintain vegetable gardens of all sizes
and donate the harvest to help feed people in need,
as well as assist and inspire others to do the same.
I have a new dream, a dream to have a vegetable
garden in every state to help make sure there are no
hungry kids, no hungry people.
Katie wearing her award-winning T-shirt
My story isn’t just about me or a garden. It is about
the possibilities that are all around us. If I had looked
at the cabbage as just a vegetable, how different
my life would be today. What I saw in that cabbage
was not just a cabbage but a way to prevent hunger
in our world. I have learned to look at things not
for what they are but for what they could be. It is
what you do with these opportunities that decide
your path in life. If you go slow and steady, you’ll
eventually reach your goal and possibly exceed
it. Anyone can do what was thought to be the
impossible.
—Katie Stagliano
Summerville, South Carolina
8

eading
There’s No Place Like Home
When I turned 10, my family moved 12
hours away. We left an industrial town,
one with cool summers and cracked
sidewalks.
We arrived in a large, sprawling city that required
air-conditioned cars and air-conditioned houses,
or else people melted. That’s how it felt to me as
I walked through the heavy evening in my new
home, the thunderheads building in the sky.
Of course I didn’t belong. I said my words strangely,
and I had an odd name. “Robin?” the neighborhood
kids hooted. “You a girl?” No, I wasn’t, but they
didn’t appreciate my protests.
So I didn’t really have a place—not in my new
home that was too humid; not with new kids who
always laughed at my name; not even in my new
school, not until I talked to the librarian. “Have you
read this book?” she asked, handing me a novel.
“The main character is a boy like you. He’s named
Robin.”
I devoured the novel. That story gave me a place, a
chance to slip into another life that felt familiar. The
character was me, after all, a boy named Robin
moving through a difficult world. And he succeeded.
I returned a few days later, asking the librarian for
another book. She smiled and found me a second
story. The main character wasn’t named Robin,
but it didn’t matter. The hero was still overcoming
problems, so I continued to return to the library.
It gave me the deluxe set of building blocks. Before
I walked into my junior high school classes, I had
already constructed knowledge about biology and
history and math and music, all from reading. The
class information fit into the frame I had already put
together.
It gave me a megaphone for a voice. By high
school, I had words and phrases and sentences in
my head that caught people’s attention. I wrote in
cadences that echoed the tones and patterns of all
the authors I read.
It gave me jigsaw puzzle skills. Read in fifth grade,
and you start to understand how information fits
together and how you can share that information
with others.
Of course, reading will build vocabulary and critical
reading skills, so you will write good papers in
high school, earn high grades on quizzes, score
excellent marks on standardized tests. Score highly
enough on those, and you’ll earn scholarships.
But the best reason for reading is place. Reading
builds a home, even if you’re out of yours.
—Robin Follet
Teacher and Assistant Head of Upper School
for Grades 11/12
Cary Academy
Cary, North Carolina
Through those books, I traveled to mythical arenas.
I became a detective, an adventurer, a warrior, a
settler, a dozen other characters. I learned about
science through Madeleine L’Engle’s novels, history
through the works of Dickens, philosophy through
stories of a magic wardrobe.
Looking back, I can see the objects that reading
gave me.
Reading gave me a camera. I observed a multitude
of lives, understanding how they echoed mine,
even if they existed in other times.
9

eading
Attention: Need Good Books?
Does this sound like you?
I
remember before being accepted into the Duke
TIP program searching in the school library for
a good book, probing through dusty and new
books, but finding that none of them had a firstclass
plot. Then my teacher would come in and say,
“Just pick one off the shelf, all books are the same!”
But it isn’t true—not all books are created equal,
and it‘s not so trouble-free to find a good book.
There’s not a big sign that says “GOOD BOOKS
RIGHT; BAD BOOKS LEFT” in the library.
Fortunately, at the end of fourth grade, good news
came: I was accepted in the TIP program. Soon I
took advantage of joining the Book Club. There were
only two books on the list, The Mysterious Benedict
Society and The Lightning Thief. I clicked on The
Mysterious Benedict Society and saw a series
of questions that involved more than a yes or no
answer. The questions made me interested in the
book.
The very next day I went to the library, but this time
I didn’t take time to investigate every book I saw.
Instead I looked at the spine of the books until my
hands picked up The Mysterious Benedict Society.
As I read the book I continually returned to the Book
Club and the questions that made me draw my own
conclusions from the book. I was gloomed up when
I finally finished the book. I missed guessing who’s
who, the puzzle-like way of fitting different events
into a smooth motion, and most of all, the different
characters’ personalities.
“Perhaps no place in any
community is so totally
democratic as the town library.
The only entrance requirement
is interest.”
—Lady Bird Johnson, Former First Lady of the United States
10

eading
After a few days of gloom, I finally looked at the TIP
Book Club again and I noticed that another book
was on the home page—Chasing Vermeer. So I
took the chance and clicked it. Again I was in the
library searching, and again I found just the right
book! When I started reading the book, I thought it
would be rather similar to The Mysterious Benedict
Society, but it was totally different! It mentioned real
universities, real cities, and even some real people!
It was full of adventure, many different climaxes, and
lots of codes to uncover!
When I finished Chasing Vermeer, I went back to
the TIP Book Club to find an even newer selection,
Fever 1793. This book was about a real period of
time, when the yellow fever came and, as a result,
many people died. It showed the tragedy of what
happened through a girl’s eyes, and at the end it
had the real facts on which the story was based.
I love the TIP Book Club because not only does it
suggest great books to read, but it also makes me
think about what I’ve read more intensely than I ever
have.
So... are you hungry for a new book? Well then
here’s the simple answer:
Log onto the Duke TIP Book Club at
www.tip.duke.edu/bookclub and cure your book
boredom! Take it directly from me.
— Alexandra Barletta-Chacon
4th–6th Grade Talent Search participant
Lincoln, Nebraska
Learn the skills and techniques that make a good story.
Duke TIP’s lesson Story Writing: Spin Me a Yarn is a talent search
benefit and it’s fun! Visit www.tip.duke.edu/456tsbenefits
11

eading
Read for Fun
Magazines
American Girl
Ages: 8–12
Issues Per Year: 6
www.americangirl.com
Boy’s Life Magazine
Ages: 9–17
Issues Per Year: 12
www.boyslife.org
Calliope Cobblestone
Cricket, Faces, Muse,
Odyssey, and Cicada
Ages: 9 and up
Issues Per Year: varies
www.cobblestonepub.com
Dig: The Archeology
Magazine for Kids
Ages: 9–14
Issues Per Year: 9
www.digonsite.com
Discovery Girls
Ages: 7–12
Issues Per Year: 6
www.discoverygirls.com
New Moon: The Magazine
for Girls and Their Dreams
Ages: 8–14
Issues Per Year: 6
www.newmoon.org
National Geographic Kids
Ages: 6–14
Issues Per Year: 10
www.kids.nationalgeographic.com
Time for Kids (Grades 4-6)
Ages: 10–12
Issues Per Year: 26 (Sept.-May)
www.timeforkids.com
Sports Illustrated for Kids
Ages: 8 and up
Issues Per Year: 12
www.sikids.com
Love telling stories?
With two Duke TIP Independent Learning courses,
you can discover stories from centuries ago.
Check out Discovering King Arthur:
Medieval Mystery and Meaning and
Growing Up Heroic: Adventures in Greek Mythology.
www.tip.duke.edu/learn
12

math and science
Experimenting Can Be Fun
My first science fair experience started with
my sister. She did a science fair project,
but did not place that year. Despite that,
my sister participated in the science fair the next
year. I was surprised. “Why did she do it again?” I
wondered.
Then in fifth grade, I learned how much time and
energy was required to conduct experiments and,
more importantly, how good it felt to explain my
study. The next year was my first year in competing
in the science fair. It was then that I finally realized
that the science fair was not about winning, but
about the experience in conducting a project and
the exchanging of ideas with others.
I spent many months and a lot of time outside
of school researching and preparing. During the
summer, I looked up information about potential
topics and chose one that I liked. Then, I wrote
my proposal. For several months I conducted
experiments and analyzed data. Upon completion
of the experiments, I wrote up a project report,
including a discussion of the results.
For anyone interested in participating in a science
fair, the easiest and most important way to start
a project is to pick a topic that you like. For me,
I was interested in ultraviolet (UV) rays and the
environment. So, when I heard a public radio report
about a study on the incidence of skin cancer, I
decided to learn more about the study. The study
found a higher incidence of left-sided skin cancer
in male drivers. Why left? That was one of my first
questions. The left side was closer to the window,
so I looked up information about UV radiation and
car window glass. I found that, out of the three parts
of the UV spectrum (UVA, UVB, and UVC), UVC is
blocked by the ozone layer while over 95 percent of
all UV rays that reach the earth’s surface are UVA.
However, car window glass only blocks UVB. In
addition, studies over the past several years have
indicated that UVA can cause skin cancer. Therefore,
I decided to determine if there was a simple way
of providing UVA protection for people when
commuting. Sunscreen could be used to block UVA,
but I could not just apply sunscreen on the glass
because it would smear. My parents used a product
called Rain-X, a transparent mixture used to increase
visibility when driving during raining conditions.
Therefore, my project investigated the UVA-blocking
effectiveness of mixtures of Rain-X and sunscreen.
This study was further expanded in a continuation
project to investigate practicality and possible
environmental impact.
At the Exxon
Mobil Texas
Science and
Engineering
Fair, I received
Best in Fair
and Grand
Prize awards
in the physical
sciences for
the junior
division.
I presented my
continuation
project at the
Exxon Mobil
Texas Science
and Engineering Fair, and I received the award
of honorable mention in the Medicine and Health
Sciences category, junior division. Separately,
I also presented my project at the International
Sustainability World Project Olympiad (Energy,
Engineering, Environment) competition and
received a silver medal in the environmental science
category.
I liked participating in science fairs, even though
I had to give up most of my free time in order to
work on my project. Despite that, it was fun not just
because my project got recognized at different state
and international competitions, but also because I
met other students and shared ideas. In addition,
I find that science fairs are great ways to practice
many things, including giving speeches, formulating
new ideas, and conducting research.
— Derek Lam
7th Grade Talent Search participant
Boerne, Texas
13

math and science
Adventures in Advanced Arithmetic:
Fun Topics in Number Theory
Serious mathematics students are typically
dedicated to advancing their studies
through increasingly complicated fields of
mathematics, from algebra and trigonometry to
calculus, statistical theory, and topology. What
some students may never realize is that a great
deal of fascinating mathematics can be discovered
with the system of whole numbers, which is the first
number system that we study in school. It is the
system that starts with zero and continues with the
counting numbers.
Whole numbers:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, …
The vast mathematical field of number theory is
dedicated to the study of whole numbers and their
interesting properties. Some mathematicians refer
to number theory as “high arithmetic.” For this
reason, young mathematicians can appreciate
and explore some of the “fun” concepts in number
theory.
Perfect Numbers
Very few, if any, situations in the world are
perfect. So, how can numbers be perfect? Well,
mathematicians have been known to borrow
English words and redefine them for their own
purposes. Euclid, a very famous mathematician
who lived over 2,000 years ago (around 300 BC)
wrote about perfect numbers in Elements, one of
the most important mathematics publications of all
time. A perfect number is a number that is equal
to the sum of its proper divisors. A proper divisor
of a number divides evenly into the number and
is less than the number itself. For example, the
proper divisors of 10 are 1, 2, and 5. Though 10 is a
divisor of 10, it is not a proper divisor because it
is not less than 10. The number 6 is the smallest
perfect number. Its proper divisors are 1, 2 and 3,
which add to 6. The next perfect number is 28! Can
you figure out why? The third and fourth perfect
numbers are 496 and 8,128.
For hundreds of years, number theorists have
been searching for more perfect numbers and
for efficient methods to find them. They have had
some success with creating a systematic way of
discovering even, perfect numbers but have had no
luck with odd perfect numbers. In fact, even with all
of the powerful computers and software available
now, no one has ever found an odd perfect number!
Could you be the first? By 1992, only 32 perfect
numbers had been discovered, and the largest
had more than 450,000 digits! With advances in
computing technology, close to 40 perfect numbers
have now been discovered.
14

math and science
Amicable Numbers
The word amicable means “friendly.” So, does this
mean that amicable numbers are friends with each
other? Well, it depends on your definition of friends.
Amicable numbers come in pairs. Each one is
equal to the sum of the other’s proper divisors. For
example, 220 and 284 are an amicable pair. Why?
The proper divisors of 220 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11, 20,
22, 44, 55, and 110, which add up to 284.
The proper divisors of 284 are 1, 2, 4, 71, and 142,
which add up to 220.
Pythagoras and his followers knew about
amicable numbers as far back as 530 BC. Other
mathematicians also studied them, but well
known mathematicians Fermat and Descartes
from the 1600’s generally receive much of the
credit for what we know about amicable numbers.
Fermat discovered another amicable pair, 17,296
and 18,416, and Descartes is credited with the
discovery of the amicable pair, 9,363,584 and
9,437,056. Imagine the calculations they worked
by hand, long before the days of even the simplest
electronic calculator!
Continued on next page.
Some Challenge Problems:
1. Show that 496 is a perfect number.
2. Explain why 24 and 36 are not an amicable pair.
3. Is the year you were born a happy number?
4. Twenty of the first 101 whole numbers are happy
numbers. Find them!
5. Explain why any number formed by reordering the digits
of a happy number is also a happy number.
15

math and science
Adventures in Advanced Arithmetic: Fun Topics in Number Theory (continued)
Happy Numbers
Saving the best for last, let’s take a look at the
numbers that make everyone smile. A happy
number is a whole number for which the sum of
the squares of the digits, after several repetitions,
eventually ends in the number 1. The best way to
understand a happy number is to see it!
diagram form an endlessly repeating cycle for
the sums of the digits of a number. To convince
yourself it is true, pick any number in the diagram
and start squaring and adding the digits. See what
happens!
4 16
37
Is 19 a happy number?
20
58
Add up the sum of the squares
of its digits
1 2 + 9 2 = 82
Repeat the process
with the resulting numbers:
For 82, 8 2 + 2 2 = 68
And, so on: 6 2 + 8 2 = 100
1 2 + 0 2 + 0 2 = 1
Stop! Since the final sum is 1,
19 is a happy number!
Why do you think they are
called happy numbers?
Not every number is a happy number. In fact, if
at any point in the process, one of your sums is
a number from the diagram following, then your
number is not happy. The eight numbers in the
42 145 89
The numbers in the diagram are not the only
unhappy numbers. For instance, 11 is not a happy
number. Adding the squares of the digits, 1 2 + 1 2 =
2, and then 2 2 = 4. Since four is in the diagram, the
repeating cycle will begin.
Unfortunately, it is unknown when or where happy
numbers first appeared. Some reports indicate that
they were first discovered in Russia but this has not
been proven.
If you think that perfect numbers, amicable
numbers, and happy numbers are fascinating, you
are not alone! These concepts barely scratch the
surface of number theory, and the knowledge about
this field of mathematics continues to grow. Happy
exploring!
Source:
Weisstein, Eric W. “Number Theory,” “Amicable Pair,” “Perfect Number,” and “Happy Number.” From MathWorld--A Wolfram
Web Resource. mathworld.wolfram.com/NumberTheory.html
Special thanks to Dr. Marian Fox, Kennesaw State University, for helping to compile these ideas.
Angela L. Teachey, PhD, Instructor of Mathematics, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
Tamar Avineri, MA, Instructor of Mathematics, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
16

math and science
Spectroscopy: The Science of Seeing Stars
Light and gravity. That’s it. Those are
the only connections we have with
the stars beyond our own sun. No
one has yet designed and built a starship
to travel through our Milky Way Galaxy and
sample the stuff from which stars are made.
But humans have been clever by using
light and gravity to probe stars without ever
traveling through space. Today we know stars
are made of elements such as hydrogen,
helium, small fractions of iron, and carbon
and common molecules like titanium oxide,
water, sand-like grains, and others. What’s
the secret? How can light and gravity be
used to tell us so much?
Great scientists like Kepler and Newton, and
later on, Einstein, developed equations that
describe the effects of gravity. By measuring
how long it takes two stars to orbit each
other in space and the separation between
them, we can calculate the masses of stars!
(For example, take a look with binoculars at the
middle star in the handle of the constellation the
Big Dipper.) By observing many star systems this
way, scientists have found that stars range from
about one-tenth the mass of our Sun up to several
times its mass. Being able to use light as a probe
means we need to understand the nature of light.
What is it that travels from an illuminated light bulb
to your eye? What is it that allows you to see the
brightness of the bulb?
Scientists describe light as a wave or as particles
traveling through space. Waves come in different
wavelengths, which can be separated out using a
prism. Just like when water droplets act as prisms
to create a rainbow. Now, hold a prism up to a neon
sign; rather than a rainbow, you will see just a few
bright spots. Every element, like neon, has its own
spectrum, which is just like a fingerprint. Putting
a prism on the eyepiece of a telescope allows
astronomers to view the wavelengths of light from
a star and detect the elements that make up the
star. This is the secret revealed! The idea of using
a prism with a telescope to measure what stars are
made of is called spectroscopy.
Spectroscopy is a powerful tool, and it can
be used to make measurements beyond the
composition of stars. Spectroscopy has been used
to discover planets around stars, measure the rate
of expansion of our universe, and even prove the
existence of dark matter! Explore. Learn about
these great discoveries. Then, I challenge you
to become a part of history by making your own
discoveries!
—Michael Castelaz
Director, Astronomical Studies and Education
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
www.pari.edu
17

TIPsters out of school
Sea Here!
Over the past four summers I have
probably gone to almost 100 summer
camps, day camps, and sleepovers, but
my favorite has absolutely got to be Sea Camp
at Texas A&M Galveston. The weeklong summer
camps at the TAMUG campus are focused on
the marine and estuary environments found on
the island of Galveston. Sea Camp has a variety
of summer classes to choose from, such as
Coastal Ecology, Marine Mammals, and Coastal
Camping.
When I was 10 years old, I already had a great
love for the ocean and the organisms that
lived in it. The very first Sea Camp I attended
was Adventures in Marine Biology. I came into
the camp a little apprehensive, as almost any
10-year-old going on their first over night camp
would be, but friendly counselors and great new
friends soon greeted me. As our busy week
began, I got to experience many new things. Our
group not only got to dissect sharks and fish but
also got to go seining in the bay! Now this might
all sound like fun and games, but I learned so
many new and interesting things while I was
there.
Each summer since then I’ve gone to Sea Camp
at least twice and each time I have even more
fun, make even more friends, and learn so much.
As I continue to grow up and my interests in the
scientific fields become more complex, I know that
Sea Camp will always have a new and exciting
course for me to take each summer. I hope that
when I turn 18 I am able to continue attending,
but instead of going as a camper I want to go as
a counselor so I can be able to spread my love
for science and the marine environment to other
enthusiastic kids.
— Morgan Ehmling
7th Grade Talent Search participant
Seabrook, Texas
Looking for something to do
during your down time?
Look no further—the Duke TIP Educational
Opportunity Guide has your answers.
www.duketipeog.com

TIPsters out of school
¡Hola, Amigos!
When my parents first told me they were
sending me off to Spanish Camp at
Concordia Language Villages, I was
angry and upset. I was concerned about not
knowing enough Spanish to survive for two whole
weeks. Being with a large group of strangers and
having to go to Minnesota (a long way from North
Carolina) wasn’t appealing to me either.
When I arrived at El Lago del Bosque (the Spanish
Village), all my fears melted away. The total
immersion concept wasn’t as intimidating as I had
imagined, and many of the other campers were on
the same Spanish-speaking level as I was. With
each passing day, I realized how valuable this
experience was going to be for me. The majority
of counselors were native speakers from many
different countries. Listening to the different dialects
and nuances in their conversations provided
invaluable insights to me as I improved my
speaking skills. Being in an environment in which
Spanish is spoken fluently all day enabled me to
learn at an accelerated pace. To my amazement,
the language and the speech patterns began to
click. My ability to understand spoken Spanish
moved to a new level.
The camps at Concordia Language Villages are
total immersion programs to help students from
around the world learn other languages. At school
I have a Spanish class every other day for less
than two hours. This level doesn’t compare to the
learning environment at Concordia. Having to
use only Spanish to communicate with others, no
matter how long it took me to put a whole sentence
together, increased my fluency. I noticed how
dramatically my understanding of the language
improved in two short weeks. Gestures and further
breakdowns of words helped me to comprehend
sentences and phrases without having to ask for an
English translation.
The cultural aspects of El Lago del Bosque were
also very beneficial. I learned to play soccer using
only Spanish words and phrases. Now at practice
at school, I have to stop myself from calling to my
teammates in Spanish. The evening programs
focused on current events. While informative, the
programs were always presented in an interesting
and fun way.
I keep returning to camp because of the awesome
experiences I have and people I meet—not to
mention the food! I’m usually a picky eater, but all
the dishes they served were delicious.
I’ve had the privilege of being at camp during
International Day. All the camps join together
at the Waldsee, the German campsite, for an
all-day celebration. Being able to share stories
and different cultures with other villagers was
awesome and really made the whole experience
come together. It is important to understand and
appreciate other cultures, and language is a big
part of that understanding. El Lago del Bosque
has helped me to become a well-rounded person,
helped prepare me for the future, and get an A in
Spanish class!
— Beth Brumbaugh
Charlotte, North Carolina
19

TIPsters out of school
Cooking Up Something Good
Ever since I can
remember I have
been shopping for
food and cooking with my
parents. I started off with
small things like helping
to add ingredients, and
last Thanksgiving I made
the entire dinner from
scratch by myself.
I began entering the North
Carolina State Fair when
I was four years old and
have 83 ribbons, one of
which is a Best of Show.
I have learned how to create a lot of crafts, how to be
a better cook, how to plan ahead, how to understand
contest rules, and most of all to have fun with my
entries. When I first started entering the State Fair, my
mom and I would read the rule book and have lots
of questions about my entries, but now we know the
ropes and we also know all of the fantastic ladies in
the entry department!
Several years ago, Bobby Flay came to cook at our
fairgrounds. During his demonstration, the audience
could ask him questions. I asked him if he needed
any help, and he invited me on stage! I could hardly
see over the counter but loved looking out at the
hundreds of people in the audience—I couldn’t
believe that I was not nervous. I helped them finish
up the demonstration, something I will never forget.
Last December, I was selected to go to the Rachael
Ray Show in New York and open the show cooking
with Rachael Ray. It was a fantastic experience.
During our first few days in New York City we saw
everything we could see. Then came the moment
we were waiting for: we entered the building, went
straight to my own dressing room, and then to have
our hair and make-up done. The staff quickly hooked
me up to a microphone, and I found myself on the set
meeting Rachael Ray! I got a warm hug and we went
over the plan. After a quick trip back to the dressing
room, we were called to walk on stage in front of the
audience. At first I have to admit I was nervous but
then I told myself, “You can do this,” and I did!
A few months ago I got a call from the Got to be NC
to do cooking and gardening demonstrations. I was
the first kid ever to do a demo. I did three on cooking
and one on gardening. In preparation for my shows,
I visited farms to learn about their products. I went
to Jones Farms for sweet potatoes, Braswell Foods
for eggs, Williams Farms for gardening, and the NC
Cattleman’s Association and Blinson Farms to learn
about cattle and beef. Bonnie Plants furnished me
with all kinds of vegetables, herbs, and fertilizer
for my gardening demo. I was amazed at all of the
knowledge that I gained. Doing the live demos was
a lot of work and a learning experience, and I am so
grateful to all of the companies that sponsored me.
Last year, I started a YouTube channel, “At Home
with Sydney McCoy,” for kids that shows them how
to cook, do things around the house, and shares
fun facts. Making the shows requires planning, a lot
of preparation, and of course, lots of laughs with
the outtakes. I have learned about staging, lighting,
preparing ahead of time, and location for the shots.
I have also learned a lot about my outfit and the
products that I use in my shows; any logo or brand
name has to be covered and not displayed. I’ve
learned to even think about the dishes I use, and
of course the plating of the food and how the final
product looks.
It has been so exciting to meet celebrity chefs, go
behind the scenes, and be exposed to so many
things at my age. I would encourage kids my age
to take a look at the wide variety of things you can
enter at state fairs and also 4-H. There are so many
things you can learn and have fun doing them.
Sometimes it takes more than one attempt to get it
the way you would like, but don’t get discouraged or
give up. Just give it another try, and when you see
your final product you will be proud of your work.
My motto is, “If you can dream it you can achieve it.”
You never know what opportunities might be out
there for you. Believe in yourself, follow your dreams,
try something new and have fun!
—Sydney McCoy
Apex, North Carolina
4th–6th Grade Talent Search participant
20

more from Duke TIP
EXPLORE Your Talents
Test. What does the average
American child think of when he
or she hears the word “test”?
Possibly evading, maybe cramming. But the
EXPLORE ® test is different. No participant in
the 4th–6th Grade Talent Search is actually
required to take it as it is an optional benefit. The
EXPLORE test is taken by fourth, fifth, and sixth
graders who want to see what it is like to take an
above-level test. They can see how they measure
up to the scores of eighth graders, who take the
EXPLORE as a standardized test in their schools.
I took the test because I wanted to see how well I
could score.
Upon arriving at the testing site, I felt a little
nervous. However, the kind proctor quickly
reassured me. A student can take the EXPLORE
test in a couple of hours, and it chiefly measures
a student’s ability to think logically. The test was
surprisingly enjoyable, and when it ended I felt
a little bit sad. Who knew filling in little bubbles
could be so much fun? Although I didn’t exactly
feel enthused before the EXPLORE test, I left the
testing site with a sense of accomplishment.
After several weeks, I received my scores. I ripped
excitedly into the formal-looking envelope. Once
I finished perusing the scores with my parents,
I opened a second envelope. We all found
an invitation to a Duke TIP State Recognition
Ceremony. Receiving scores just might be the most
heart-pounding moment of the EXPLORE test
adventure.
At the ceremony, students receive a medal and
have the chance to meet other Duke TIP kids. Also,
an inspiring speaker gives a speech before medals
are awarded. Certainly, it is a privilege and a joy to
be invited to a Duke TIP ceremony.
I’m glad I took the EXPLORE test because I saw
how my scores on the EXPLORE test stacked up
with those of eighth graders. Even if you don’t score
well, one above-level test experience is behind
you, and any fifth grader in the talent search has
the opportunity to take the EXPLORE test in sixth
grade. That’s what I did. The EXPLORE test I took
in fifth grade was just practice because I planned
to take the test again in sixth grade and beat my
fifth grade scores. The EXPLORE test isn’t all about
comparing your results to eighth grade students,
it’s about seeing how well you can do and working
hard to be your best. The EXPLORE test is a fun
test that allows you to experience a different kind
of test than you take in school and provides an
opportunity to push yourselves to do well.
— Evelyn Fordham
4th–6th Grade Talent Search participant
Cary, North Carolina
21

more from Duke TIP
EXPLORE Honor Roll
In November 2012 and January and February 2013, 9,599 4th–6th Grade Talent Search participants took
the EXPLORE test. The students listed here earned a composite score in the 99th percentile or higher.
Each received a Duke TIP medallion to recognize this achievement and were invited to a recognition
ceremony.
Alabama
Niam Abeysiriwardena
Riley Cushing
Joy Duan
Joshua Fording
Joshua Kelley
Amrita Lakhanpal
Noel Lange
Aditi Limaye
Graham Meldrum
Isaac Smith
Corey Tolbert
David Walker
Brandon Wang
Mark White
Adam Wofford
John Yordy
Arkansas
Luke Haws
Kelvin Kang
Arjun Krishna
Anila Narayana
Arizona
Harris Shadmany
Hannah Shadmany
Florida
Andres Arias
Elijah Bamberg
Allie Beaudrot
Miranda Bird
Erin Bryan
Theresa Carr
Matthew Castro
Evan Cohen
Connor Darby
Riju Datta
Lleyton Elliott
Kathryn Emerson
Sachit Gali
Caleb Gibson
Anirudh Gogineni
Daisy Hoover
Madison Kang
Milayna Kokoska
Julia Kourelakos
Trishala Kumar
Jennifer Lawson
David Leone
William Megginson
Anmol Mittal
Azzara Nincevic
Nikhil Pilli
Peyton Robertson
Chase Ruskin
Zachary Sanders
Claire Sattler
Rebecca Sealy
Jason Sevilla
Anuj Som
Grace Tovkach
Varsha Udayakumar
Andrew Yuan
Georgia
Locke Adams
Hanna Baniassad
Neel Bansal
Minhchau Bui
Jonas Chan
Jamie Colvin
William Fuss
Kiran Gadde
Jacquelyn Gwynn
Rishab Jayanthi
Fotihkjon Karimov
Hannah Lee
Katherine Li
Nithya Mahakala
Beth Miller
Mira Mutnick
James Owen
Grace Pan
Amy Park
Henry Rosenblath
Tyler Schott
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EXPLORE Honor Roll
Sahana Sharma
Shanzeh Sheikh
Elizabeth Sims
Samuel Sunder
Tarah Thompson
Eric Traugott
Caroline Ursprung
Nithilan Vincent
Karthik Viswanathan
Ordia Williams
Christina Woodrow
Manuel Yepes
Shawn Zhu
Illinois
Allen Chen
Ammaar Saeed
Kansas
Edward Barfield
Brian Beach
Kaegan Cowan
Hilary Griggs
Brett Hawkins
Samuel Hutchinson
Ritvik Illindala
Andrew Kent
Daniel McMillin
Natalie Nitsch
David Qi
Annam Ramasamy
Rachana Sangem
Kassandra Wu
Kentucky
Seth Baunach
Madeleine Bruelheide
Anjali Chadha
Luise Helena Concepcion
Genesis Dalcourt
Abigail Fletcher
Elizabeth Foster
William Frye II
Rehan Ghanta
Shaylon Moore
Jerry Morse
Shivani Nellore
Connor Patterson
Meghan Pierce
William Poteet
Julian Powers
Ali Siddiqui
Parker Smith
Jacob Styer
Caroline Sumner
Daniel Tafel
Cameron Wyatt
Edward Zhong
Louisiana
Thomas Ackman
Eli Barbin
Peyton Stafford
James Westman
Mississippi
Nathan Delisle
Edward Hu
Henry Sanders
Samuel Sliman
Missouri
Wilhelmina Buchholz
Aparajita Chunduri
Evelyn Crowe
Claire Pan
Jacob Sharp
Jonathan Zhang
Nebraska
Blake Callahan
Campbell Haasch
William Nervig
Haidyn Sosallabahr
Ryan Wall
New York
Snigdha Patra
23

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EXPLORE Honor Roll
North Carolina
Regan Andringa Seed
Lily Austin
Nadezhda Bogomolova
Will Carson
Emma Carter
Dev Chheda
Thomas Cope
Addie Esposito
Robert Furuya
Sagan Gor
Caylan Hagood
David Hiser III
Amanda Hofmann
Aaron Holt
Bryant Hou
Isha Kabra
Brandon Kaminski
Adriana Kim
Samuel Kio
John Kirollos
Sravya Kuchibhotla
Brendan Leary
Josh Leffler
Hahn Lheem
David Li
Julia Lowe
Luke Marushack
Alexi McNabb
Ira Morningstar
Jacob Parker
Aarushi Patil
Rachel Patterson
Samuel Pell
Ruta Petrikis
Stephen Pierce
Tarun Prakash
Rohit Raguram
Megha Raman
Tarini Ramesh
Miki Reynolds
Robert Roycroft
Jeffrey Shao
Rohini Sharma
Sarah Shaw
Gauruv Singh
Jordan Song
Abigail Stevens
Melanie Su
Anthony Testa
Sanjana Tharuvesanchi
Alexander Tong
Austin Trimble
Sydney Tucker
Annie Wang
Molly Warren
Karissa Webb
Abby Weitkamp
Emory Wilson
Meg Woodburn
Alan Xie
Thomas Yang
Esther Zhu
Ohio
Andrew Carter
Oklahoma
Saagar Basavaraju
Elise Battles
Emma Bollinger
Carson Confer
Karina Feng
Graham Jameison
Pranav Jayachand
James Landaiche
Sanjeev Musuvathy
Pennsylvania
Sanjay Johnson
South Carolina
Declan Carroll
Anthony Cinquemani
Becan Floyd
Banks Fryer
Stephen Havasy, Jr.
Caroline Lucas
Caleb Oltmanns
Kobe Suginaka
Christiana Wayne
Tennessee
John Bottei
Adeline Carter
Sanjay Chakrabarty
Ananda Chandrashekar
Ian Dilick
Andrew Duffield
Julian Habermann
William Hurst
Maya Johnson
Madelyn Mansfield
Aidan Niswender
Maria Osipovich
Akaash Padmanabha
Rhiana Prince
Ananyaa Rajesh
Baylor Sai
Rachel Scheffer
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EXPLORE Honor Roll
Texas
Ryan Anselm
Aarti Aravapalli
Toshaan Arora
Vineeth Bandi
Rahul Banerjee
Anika Biju
Kemper Brown
Amanda Crockett
Shobha Dasari
Kara Decker
Charlsie Doan
Eleanor Dowell
Patrick Flaherty
Jordan Fogel
Shivani Ganesh
Nevin George
Shomik Ghose
Maria Gibbs
Sanath Govindarajan
Raman Gupta
Olivia Harris
Sujai Hiremath
Michael Hla
Emma Hopkins
Daniel Jimenez
Saahithi Joopelli
Vikram Joshi
Kanika Kappalayil
Zuha Khan
Luis Kim
Atticus Koch
Siddharth Krishnakumar
Pierce Lai
Parker Lake
Maxwell Lavinsky
Andrew Lee
Luke Li
Jason Lu
Carter Lucas
Andy Ly
Austin Ma
Anuraag Madabushi
Devon Maheshwari
Antonio Marques
Elise Marshall
Brian Marshall
Akanksha Mehta
Anusha Mehta
Ruth Mitchell
Shilpita Mitra Behura
Shree Mohan
Isha Mondal
Nikita Munsif
Siddharth Muppalla
Divya Nagaraj
Elizabeth Nguyen
Alexis Brian Nicolas
Nikhita Pathapati
Saswat Pati
Thomas Plaxton
Anvith Potluri
Abigail Reed
William Rossiter
Anish Sankhavaram
Naman Sarda
Kavitya Sarma
Sebastian Seager
Jessa Sherbon
Gaurav Singh
Macintyre Syrett
Ethan Tan
Justin Thein
Ryan Tran
Abigail Truong
Anna Tutuianu
Kennedy Waterman
Addison White
Matthew Whorton
Benjamin Wright
Lucy Xu
Bella Xu
Michelle Yakubek
Alexander Yi
Isaac Yu
Andrew Yu
Richard Zhang
Jenny Zhang
Jeremy Zhou
Virginia
Alexandra Bonat
Mohini Johri
Madeline Walter
Washington
Zane Williams
Wisconsin
Yining Zhou
25

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The Duke University Talent Identification Program is an international leader in identifying and serving
the educational needs of academically gifted youth. Through identification, recognition, challenging
educational programs, information, advocacy, and research, Duke TIP provides resources to gifted
students, their parents, educators, and schools for the development of the students’ optimal potential.
Academic 411, a publication of the Duke University Talent Identification Programs’s 4th–6th Grade Talent Search, includes addresses of
websites that are neither controlled by nor sponsored by Duke TIP. Whereas Duke TIP attempts to provide updated contact information
for sites that may be of interest, website content may change without our knowledge. Inclusion of these web addresses in this publication
does not constitute Duke TIP’s endorsement of the sites’ content.