Eighth-Grader Tomi Oderinde Participates in Duke TIP Summer ProgramEighth-Grader Tomi Oderinde Participates in Duke TIP Summer Program

While many Middle School students spend the summer lounging around the pool or at the beach, eighth-grader Tomi Oderinde had a different idea of summer fun that involved expanding her knowledge and meeting new friends. She participated in the Duke TIP Summer Program, an intense academic program for seventh- through 10th-graders that challenges students to think critically about themselves and the world.



To qualify for the program, a student must score between 500 and 560 on the math, critical reading, or writing section of the SAT. Out of the 10 students from Whitefield who took the SAT as seventh-graders last year, Tomi was the only student to participate in the Duke TIP Summer Program.




Tomi spent three weeks on the campus of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, immersing herself in rigorous studies and forming relationships with 191 students from around the country. Between seven hours of classes every day and nightly bonding activities with her classmates, there was a constant buzz of activity and little time to miss home. She also experienced a taste of college life by living in a dorm with a fellow program participant from Michigan, with whom she still regularly keeps in touch.




The program offered a wide variety of courses from which the students could choose, from writing to history to anatomy. Tomi chose the Mathematical Arts course and learned how designers, architects, and engineers use geometric principles to create both functional and beautiful designs. Specific topics covered included Fibonacci numbers, tessellations, the Pythagorean Theorem, fractals, and the Golden Ratio. She also studied specific artists and styles of art, such as cubism.




While Tomi said she was fascinated by the subject matter of her class, her favorite part of the program was being surrounded by students with similar interests and the same passion for learning. She is eager to participate in the program again next summer and plans to take the SAT again this year in hopes of requalifying.