Don’t be surprised to see Jon Miller run for president in 2036. That’s the first year he’s eligible.
He’s already given his future a lot of thought. He imagines walking up to a political science professor on his first day at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he will attend college in the fall.
He’ll ask: If i wanted to be president, how would I start? What does it take?
Or maybe, instead, he’ll make scientific discoveries. Be the next Stephen Hawking.
Maybe he’ll study philosophy. Go to law school.
Maybe he’ll do something he’s never imagined. Something no one has ever imagined.
Miller has a lot of thoughts about a lot of things.
”I like thinking a little bit deeper and asking why. I’ve tried to take classes in high school that reflect that,” he said. ”It will be really interesting to see the different methods a college-level class can teach me about the process of thinking and learning. I dont want to go to college to get a credential. I want a good education.”
Whatever he does, it will matter.
”If we can learn the tools to effectively communicate and critically think and get a good education, we should use it for a bigger cause than ourselves.
I guess, really, I just always wanted to not be insignificant.”
MILLER will graduate from Iola High School at 2 p.m. today as one of six valedictorians.
Hell head to Bowdoin with a QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship worth about $280,000. The highly competitive program places students from a limited economic background at a school that would likely lead to a successful postgraduate career. Bowdoin, established in 1794, is one of the oldest and most preeminent liberal arts universities in the nation.
As Miller reflected on his high school career prior to graduating, he considered the ways school helped develop his leadership skills.
”I’ve always had big ideas, but I’ve never really known how to go about them until my high school experiences,” he said.
He especially enjoyed Dana Daugharthy’s science classes. “Daugharthy treats his students like scientists,: Miller said. ”What kind of thinking would a scientist take to make a hypothesis and test it and draw conclusions? The whole year builds on that.”
Last year, Miller took physics and calculus at the same time. While most students would feel overwhelmed by such a challenging duo, Miller saw how they totally justified each other. The principles of physics, things like speed and velocity and acceleration, are all about derivatives and integrals, he realized. Its all connected.
