Pinnacle 2001 - Scholars' Biographies

Matthew Baker is 16 years old and lives with his parents in Silver Spring, Maryland. He is a senior at St. Albans School, in Washington, D.C. Matt participated with special pleasure in religion and ethics classes at St. Albans taught by Reverend Daniel Heischman and Reverend Will Billow. For the past two years, Matt has developed a strong interest in history and public policy. He was appointed by the County Executive and confirmed by the County Council for a 1½ year term as the only student member of the Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Advisory Council for Montgomery County, Maryland. Matthew also continues to cultivate his talents in mathematics, sports, and music. He took a 3rd place in the American Junior High School Mathematics Examination as an 8th grader. He attended the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth (CTY) classes in linguistics and algebra, and at the Center for Math, Science, and Technology, (University of Maryland Eastern Shore), Matthew took courses in code breaking and cryptanalysis, probability, and space medicine. For five years, Matt was a member of the professional Choir of Men and Boys at the National Cathedral. Matthew was All-Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) in basketball (2000) and in track and field (2000 and 2001). He recently recorded a CD with his student run barbershop quartet, The St. Albans Quartet, which he helped organize.

Rachel Emery, a 15-year-old writer, lives in Cleona, a small town in central PA just east of Hershey. Although Rachel dictated her first story "The Time of Great Recise" when she was only four years old, she started writing seriously at age eight with "Z5B", a science fiction triptych. She has won numerous awards in both poetry and fiction and has participated in the Johns Hopkins University Young Writers Tutorial program for the past five years. Just recently, Rachel finished editing her first novel, a 370-page fantasy work entitled "Lifeknot." Academically, Rachel has a keen interest in what she calls the "three P's": psychology, philosophy, and physics. When Rachel is not writing, she enjoys playing flute, handbells and electric bass, and is active in school and church musical groups. She is an avid outdoors person, and especially enjoys the wilderness canoe trip she does in Ontario every summer. Rachel also plays soccer, and has served as goalkeeper for her high school team for the past two years.

David Sonnenborn lives in Scarsdale, New York and has attended Scarsdale Public Schools throughout his academic career. He will be entering his senior year this fall. Throughout high school David has maintained a deep-seated commitment to his school newspaper, Maroon. Over a 2.5 year period, David reported on a spectrum of topics such as sexual harassment, the 2000 presidential campaign, and emerging teaching techniques. During the last year, David began writing sports articles and features for the local newspaper, The Scarsdale Inquirer. In his capacity as In-Depth Editor, David has examined both local and national issues ranging from the crisis in the Middle East to inter-generational relationships, to an examination of the role of public funds in public school education. David's writing and page layouts have received a number of awards, including the Gannet High School Newspaper award for a Sports Feature on athletic injuries. Over the past three years, David has attended Columbia's School of Journalism Young Writers' Conference. In February, he traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Presidential Classroom student conference on politics and government. He has two older brothers, and lives with his father, mother, and golden retriever dog, Daisy. David enjoys participating in his synogogue`s youth group, playing tennis on the school team, and learning French in both classroom and homestay settings.

Zach Wissner-Gross is a 16-year-old New York native who enjoys science (particularly biology, neuroscience, and physics), inventing, math, opera, travel, and sports. The younger of two brothers, he lives with his family in New Hyde Park on Long Island and attends Great Neck South High School. His interest in invention led him to become very involved in science research, and he has won national awards for his work. This summer, he is conducting stem cell research at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. Zach also enjoys math and has had much success in math competitions. He was named captain of the county math team and was elected captain of his school math team as well. For the past two summers, he has studied Number Theory at Boston University's PROMYS program and Hampshire College. While in the second grade, Zach began performing professionally with the New York City Opera, eventually starring at Lincoln Center and singing background music for TV commercials and public service announcements. Since his voice changed, he has been singing baritone with his high school opera company. Earlier this summer, he traveled to Sacramento to compete in the National Fencing Championships, where he achieved national ranking as a foil fencer in the 16 and under division. He also especially enjoys baseball and has been a starting pitcher for several school and district teams.