While summer plans in general are up in the air so far this year, Mark Bellamy Jr., a rising senior at Monticello High School, has an exciting six weeks planned.
Mark was accepted into the prestigious Summer Academy of Actuarial and Mathematical Sciences (SAAMS) Program at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He will attend the program online because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, but that hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm.
SAAMS is a rigorous academic enrichment program in math, actuarial science and computer science. Applicants for the program are selected through a competitive application and interview process and those selected to attend receive a stipend. The purpose of the program is to foster an interest in math, actuarial science and computer science with the hope of increasing the number of students who enter those fields.
Mark fits the bill.
“Throughout my school career math is the subject I enjoy the most,” said Mark, who hopes to become an electrical engineer someday. His favorite subject this past year was physics.
He is considering attending Morgan State University after his graduation from Monticello. A member of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), Mark became interested in Morgan State when the group took a visit to the university. He was impressed with the school and its programs.
As for the summer program, Mark had hoped to be able to attend on campus, but that wasn’t to be with the virus.
“I was hoping for the college experience during the program but online is fine with me,” Mark said.
Mark came to Monticello in his sophomore year from Peekskill. His academic transition has been smooth. He likes being part of MBK, in large part because he gets to mentor the younger kids from RJK Middle School, Cooke KLR Elementary schools.
To be considered for the SAAMS program, applicants must be entering 12th grade or an incoming freshman at Morgan State University and, of course, be interested in pursuing a degree in math, actuarial science or computer science at Morgan State. All applicants must write an essay, provide a transcript and get two letters of recommendation.
Mark will be immersed in his SAAMS summer program from June 22 through July 31. We wish him well and know he will do Monticello proud!