2012 Student Leadership Award – Ivan Kuznetsov
May 17

2012 Student Leadership Award – Ivan Kuznetsov

A senior at W.G. Enloe High School, Ivan Kuznetsov is passionate about math and science as demonstrated by his successful completion of all of the possible AP courses in math and science. But he is equally committed to getting others excited about those fields of study. In addition to tutoring his fellow Enloe students, Ivan reestablished the Science Days club at Enloe. Through Science Days, high school students work as volunteers to introduce elementary school students to science and to enrich their science knowledge. The group has grown to 20 students who visit a nearby elementary school every three weeks to give 45-minute lessons and mini-labs on different aspects of science. Writing about the experience of Science Days, Ivan recounted that the kids were excited to see science at work and didn’t want to leave the class. He continued, “It will take a while to know if my work has paid off. But from what I have seen so far, to some extent, it already has. I was able to spark these kids’ interest in science and knowledge in general, and now I hope they will jump for any opportunity, as I did, to pursue that curiosity throughout their lives.”