Written by AMA staff (01/2001); Transcribed by JS (03/2008), Reformatted by JS (02/2010)
John Stoncek of Rockville, Maryland, was awarded an AMA/Charles Hampson Grant scholarship in the amount of $2,000. He is attending the University of Maryland – College Park, enrolled in the College Park Scholars program, and plans to major in mechanical engineering. A graduate of Thomas S. Wooten High School in Rockville, Maryland, John graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.8 out of a possible 4.0. He was involved in the National Honor Society his junior and senior years and tutored students in math and science each week. He also enjoyed teaching elementary students science experiments and explaining the physics behind the experiments in a program called CATS (Cross Age Teaching of Science.)
John played trumpet in his school’s concert and marching bands. Following his junior year, John was selected to be in Senior Leadership, a group dedicated to the planning and raising of money for numerous student events while being representatives for the class. He was the chairperson of two events and found it a rewarding experience “because I learned how to start a project from the ground up, manage it through its planning and setup, and then finally see the finished outcome.” John played varsity lacrosse in his last two years of high school and participated in the school’s downhill ski club.
John and his family moved from Minnesota to the close-knit community of Rockville prior to his freshman year in high school. Having left his friends in Minnesota, John found himself with time to explore something that had always interested him: Radio Control airplanes. Said John, “As soon as I started reading about them, and then with the encouragement of my grandfather, I was hooked.” His first airplane was an Almost-Ready-to-Fly, but since then he has built and still flies a red-white-and-blue Direct Connection Tsunami.
A member of the D.C. Radio Control Club located in Germantown, Maryland, John credits club members and instructors for teaching him to fly and for teaching him much about aviation, engineering, and the value of help from others.
John’s most rewarding modeling activity has been the opportunity to teach his grandfather how to fly. “It was neat because he’s always teaching me new things and opening my mind up, but this time the roles were reversed.”
John has been involved with his church and volunteered each winter at the Christmas-tree sale. He was also selected as a youth-group mentor and planner of group activities. John did volunteer work in the National Institutes of Health’s Division of Transfusion Medicine. This lead to paid work as a summer student at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, which gave him the opportunity to work with stem cells and learn from researchers who are some of the best in their fields.
The Academy extends its wishes for a happy and rewarding future, John.
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