For senior Joe Kaperst, winning a Bethesda Magazine “Extraordinary Teen” award was a surprise: he had no idea he was even nominated and was even more shocked when he found out he had won.
Kaperst and senior Grace Myers were the two Whitman students honored in Bethesda Magazine’s 7th annual Extraordinary Teens award for local students. The award is given to 12 high school students selected from a pool of around 100 students nominated by parents, peers and teachers.
“I was extremely excited,” Kaperst said. “I didn’t know I had been nominated for my work in coding until I got the email saying I had won.”
Kaperst was honored for his strong academics, his internship work at NIH and his work for CoderDojo, a program teaching coding to kids in DC.
“I try to teach coding in a fun way, with lots of games and relevant examples,” Kaperst said. “It’s so exciting helping students figure out tough concepts.”
Kaperst’s efforts to teach coding were not the only projects from a Whitman student that received a nod in the March and April edition of the magazine.
Myers has over 500 SSL hours and received her award due to her strong academics, her work for the Whitman Journal of Psychology and her efforts in donating books to needy families.
While volunteering at a food bank in DC, Myers noticed that many of the kids waiting in line with their parents had nothing to entertain them and were often bored or anxious. Myers decided to bring in a box of children’s books and was soon working to collect book donations from yard sales and other donors on a weekly basis.
“I’m doing about 300 books a week and my total is around 10,000 books donated as of March,” Myers said.
Myers has found that her book project complements her other interests.
“I’m interested in pursuing neuroscience, and there’s a huge link between access to opportunities like having books and toys and brain development,” she said.
For both students, the award is an exciting and well-deserved honor.
“I’m really happy,” Kaperst said. “I just hope it brings some exposure to these organizations.”
OccupyProgramming2 • Apr 13, 2016 at 1:57 pm
Can we verify this info? Is this a conspiracy against the common people? Every year, the geo-political corporations that JOE runs eat away at the PEOPLE’s savings. What can save us? Protesting. Join us 2 expose JOE.
Thoughtful Terp • Apr 11, 2016 at 9:47 am
Kaperst is better known for his work as Atlanta born rapper “YungSlee”. His style blends Atlanta Gansta trap beats with soft Drake-esque verse in a voice that will put your kids to sleep, mixtape pending.
Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration • Apr 10, 2016 at 3:10 pm
He had to submit his name or at least consent to his nomination. How’s that for a false modesty
The Listener • Apr 4, 2016 at 10:47 am
Despite what some of the students mentioned in this article claim, one must submit themselves as a candidate for the award in question. I just wanted to clear this confusion up.
TheListener • Apr 13, 2016 at 1:58 pm
waita copy the name