Dallas Independent School District

04/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/16/2024 14:29

Dallas ISD News: Dallas ISD student awarded Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship

Dallas ISD student awarded Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship

Editor's note: Spanish story included below

DALLAS -
Ismael E., a senior at the School of Science and Engineering (SEM) at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, recently secured a $40,000 scholarship from the Amazon Future Leaders Program to pursue a degree in computer science. An enthusiastic problem solver, he is eager to further develop his skills in this field.

"Words can't describe how happy I am. That's a lot of money and I'm excited for the internship," Ismael said. "Two years ago, I saw another recipient get it and I was shocked. For two years, I've been wanting this scholarship, and the second it opened I applied."

Ismael, who took computer science classes at SEM, is one of 43 students in Texas and 400 in the nation selected for the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship. As part of the scholarship, Ismael earned a paid internship at Amazon after his freshman year of college.

"I love solving problems in computer science because of the difficulty it offers. It always motivates me to try and find a creative solution," he said. "Plus, it's a rewarding feeling to finally create what I envisioned from the start."

Recipients of the scholarship are selected based on academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, school participation, work experience, future goals, and financial need. By offering this opportunity to high school seniors, Amazon aims to empower them to pursue rewarding careers and drive innovation for a more equitable and sustainable future.

Ismael originally wanted to pursue a career in astronomy, but he said he was inspired to explore the computer science field by his teacher, Christian Florczak.

"He gave us all the freedom in the world and that's what made me love computer science-the freedom to build solutions to the problems you're given," Ismael said.

He met Florczak as a freshman when he took his pre-AP computer science class.

"It definitely didn't come naturally to him at first, and those are some of my favorite students because they come in with new problem-solving strategies to contextualize what we're learning," Florczak said. "It clicked for him when he joined the VEX robotics team and started leveraging some of that CS knowledge and began programming."

It is because of Ismael's leadership, two of the school's four VEX robotics teams also made it to the World Championships this year, Florczak added.

"He's just an amazing student. I'm so happy he got that scholarship. He's my third student to get it in a row," he said. "It's amazing to see how, two years later, here he is receiving the same award. He clearly saw it, wanted it, and earned it."

Spanish story:

Estudiante de Dallas ISD recibe beca para ingenieros del futuro de Amazon

DALLAS - Ismael E., estudiante de grado 12 en School of Science and Engineering (SEM, por sus siglas en inglés) at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, recibió una beca de $40,000 del Amazon Future Leaders Program para estudiar Informática en la universidad. A Ismael le encanta resolver problemas y está ansioso por desarrollar aún más sus habilidades en este ámbito.

"No tengo palabras para describir mi felicidad. Es mucho dinero y estoy emocionado por la pasantía", dijo Ismael. "Hace dos años, vi a otro estudiante recibir la beca y me impresioné. Por dos años he querido esta beca, y al momento que abrieron las solicitudes, envié la mía".

Ismael tomó clases de informática en SEM y es uno de los 43 estudiantes de Texas y 400 del país en ganar la Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship. Como parte de la beca, Ismael hará una pasantía pagada en Amazon después de terminar su primer año de universidad.

"Me encanta resolver problemas de informática por la dificultad que presenta. Siempre me motiva a tratar de encontrar una solución creativa", dijo. "Además, es gratificante poder finalmente crear algo que visualicé desde un principio".

Los beneficiarios de la beca son seleccionados según su aprovechamiento académico, liderazgo demostrado, participación escolar, experiencia laboral, objetivos a futuro y necesidad financiera. Al ofrecer esta oportunidad a estudiantes de grado 12, Amazon busca inculcarles la capacidad de conseguir una carrera gratificante e impulsar la innovación para un futuro más equitativo y sostenible.

Originalmente, Ismael quería seguir una carrera en astronomía, pero lo inspiró a explorar la informática el maestro Christian Florczak.

"Nos dio toda la libertad del mundo y por eso me encanta la informática -la libertad de construir soluciones a los problemas dados", dijo Ismael.

El estudiante conoció a Florczak en noveno grado cuando cursó Informática pre-AP.

"De primero no le salía naturalmente, y esos son algunos de mis estudiantes favoritos porque vienen con nuevas estrategias para resolver problemas para contextualizar lo que estamos aprendiendo", dijo Florczak. "Algo le hizo clic cuando se unió al equipo de VEX Robotics y empezó a usar lo que aprendió en Informática y se puso a codificar".

Es gracias al liderazgo de Ismael que dos de los cuatro equipos de robótica de VEX también se clasificaron para el campeonato mundial este año, agregó Florczak.

"Es simple y sencillamente un estudiante increíble. Estoy muy feliz de que ganó la beca. Es el tercero de mis estudiantes en ganarla, uno tras otro consecutivamente", afirmó Florczak. "Es asombroso verlo, dos años después, ganar el mismo premio. Queda claro que vio lo que quería, y se lo ganó".