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06.15.11 | Adventures of the Mind Summit Offers UnParalleled Academic Event at University of Montana
For immediate release
Expect the state’s collective IQ to jump several points June 23-26 during the Adventures of the Mind achievement mentoring summit at The University of Montana.
Using the theme “Under the Big Sky,” Adventures of the Mind will give a fascinating array of high achievers the chance to mentor more than 170 of the nation’s most promising high school students from nearly every state.
The 50-plus mentors include accomplished artists, athletes, inventors, Nobel laureates, novelists, scientists, trailblazers and world changers. Among them are Richard Taylor, who earned the 1990 Nobel Prize in physics (one of seven participating Nobel laureates); Peter Norvig, director of research at Google; Bonnie Dunbar, an astronaut who logged 50 days in space; and Roz Chast, the renowned New Yorker cartoonist.
A full list of mentors and a summit schedule are online at issuu.com/umontana/docs/adventures or The Adventures of the Mind online at www.adventuresofthemind.org.
“Every two years this event brings together some of America’s most promising students – the great thinkers and achievers of tomorrow – with some of the great thinkers and achievers of today,” said Victoria Gray, the event organizer who founded the summit in 2003. “During this weekend our junior achievers will get to meet one another and the mentors, many of whom have been unknowable names in a textbook, television program or Wikipedia entry. But even more important is that the mentors will get to know the student scholars.”
The previous four summits were held at Seattle, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Morehouse College and the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. This prestigious event was brought to Missoula through generous support by host sponsors Dennis and Phyllis Washington. The summit will be headquartered on the UM campus in the building named for Mrs. Washington, the Phyllis J. Washington Education Center.
“This event allows some amazing students to interact with some very bright and accomplished people,” Mrs. Washington said. “This is an opportunity to open their minds and set goals for their paths in life. We are excited to help bring such a fantastic event to Montana.”
The high-potential students will attend symposia and breakout sessions with names such as “Nobel Aspirations,” “Thinking Like a Winner,” “Math is Not Just for Nerds,” “You Can Make a Difference” and “Finding Your Niche in Life.”
They also may experience hiking to the M above campus, a barbecue and shindig at the Washingtons’ Grant Creek Ranch, dinner on the 50-yard line in Washington-Grizzly Stadium with Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker and much more.
When selecting students for the summit, Adventures of the Mind searches beyond traditional achievement benchmarks such as grades and test scores, selecting attendees based on nominations from educators who know the students with exceptional potential – despite obstacles such as learning disabilities and socioeconomic status.
The program also recruits runners-up in national competitions, such as the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, Intel Science Talent Search and National Spoken Word Competiton, as these students often are just as talented as the winners but don’t receive the same recognition, Gray said.
“This event will bring an exciting array of intellect and talent to campus, and we are ready to launch what should be an extraordinary four days,” said UM President Royce C. Engstrom, who also will serve as a mentor. “My hope is that a few of these top students will fall in love with Montana and decide to launch their academic careers here.”
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CBS
State, select national publications
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Jim Foley |
Mike Halligan |
Victoria Gray |
