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Summer at MIT

CHS student chosen for engineering program

By Erik Buchinger


Clintonville High School junior Faith Lundt was selected to an elite six-week engineering program to take place over the summer.

Lundt will drive to Chicago on June 10 before flying out for the Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES) program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She will return July 21.

Lundt said she was selected out of more than 2,400 applicants to participate in MITES, and there will be 60-80 students staying in one of the MIT residential halls.

At MITES, Lundt will study with other students and professors at the MIT campus.

Lundt participated in an engineering summer program at UW-Madison for six weeks last summer, and her director advised she look into more programs for this summer.

After a few Google searches, Lundt came upon MITES. Lundt and her roommate at the Madison program contacted each other about applying.

“We were texting each other about if we wanted to apply,” Lundt said. “We both got into it, so we’re excited to see each other this summer.”

The applications were due at the end of February, and Lundt received an email stating the decision statuses are available.

Lundt said she did not think she would be selected, but when she logged into her account, she found out she had been made the cut.

“My parents weren’t even home, so I was kind of celebrating at home by myself,” Lundt said with a laugh.

Lundt said she was surprised by being selected and had a decision to make.

“My first thought was, ‘How?’” Lund said. “Because that’s pretty crazy with such a big school and such a prestigious school. My second though was work. I just got a job, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to go or if I wanted to work or not.”

Lundt had just gotten a job with Walker Forge in Clintonville but ultimately decided on going to Massachusetts for the summer.

Lundt said there were a lot of factors that went in to her being selected for MITES.

“I have a good ACT score, so I think that helped, but I think I’m a well-rounded person,” Lundt said. “I not only have good test scores, but I do a lot of things, and I’m able to write well about what I do, so I think the essay portion really helped.”

Lundt said she received quite a bit of help from her high school teachers Jeff Crumbaugh and Kevin Reese.

“I’d say Mr. Crumbaugh definitely pushes us to try and do as much as we can,” Lundt said. “I got letters of recommendation from both Mr. Reese and Mr. Crumbaugh. They also wrote letters for last summer’s program, so they’ve been a big help in getting me to where I want to go.”

Lundt has narrowed her college options to three with Madison, MIT or University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. She said she is looking to study either aerospace or nuclear engineering.

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