Discus Award Winner
Winners Gallery
PHOTOS
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Kelly Thomas
12th Grade, VA
ATTRIBUTES
Technology
This past summer, I participated in the NASA Governor's Mentorship at NASA Langley for four weeks and worked on the development of a virtual world for Langley. I worked on a proof of concept of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) in a virtual environment to initiate the virtualization of NASA and aerospace/aeronautical testing. I also participated in the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars program at NASA Langley, and I was selected as the Systems Manager after an interview with the supervisor of the team; my responsibility was to lead my team in the design of an architecture for a mission to Mars. After our presentation to 15+ NASA personnel, I was told that our presentation was "the best presentation he had seen in the last 3 years. That means [you] are a great leader."
Academics
Out of a class of 438, I am ranked #1. I am part of the Commonwealth Governor's School, and I am enrolled in 6 AP courses this year. I received the Highest Academic Achievement Award in AP Calculus BC last year and in Honors Math Analysis the year before. I am also an ADDA (American Design Drafting Association) internationally-recognized certified professional mechanical drafter, and I also do 3D computer animation. This past year I conducted a year long research project where I worked with an aerospace engineer to mathematically prove and design the modifications necessary to NASA's Ares I, V, & Orion spacecrafts for a manned mission to Mars, and I successfully navigated the world of ITAR (International Trade and Arms Regulation) to obtain NASA's 3D models of the spacecrafts themselves.
Athletics
This is my 10th year doing competitive horseback riding. I compete throughout the entire year in all disciplines of English riding: hunter jumping, hunter equitation, show jumping, cross country jumping, dressage, and eventing. I ride as part of a hunter show team in additional to my individual training and competition in the other disciplines. I have won numerous (too many to count) ribbons in hunter and show jumper shows and regularly take part in caring for and exercising the horses. I recently got involved in cross country jumping, dressage, and eventing, but I intend to compete at the regional and state levels this year.
