Anchorage, Alaska
When Jackson Church attended ANSEP’s January Middle School Academy, held in partnership with Anchorage School District, it was his first experience with the program. But you’d never know that when you hear how passionately Jackson talks about ANSEP.
“Middle School Academy is my first component, and basically everyone starts here,” he said. “It’s a really awesome experience, and I can’t wait to do STEM Career Exploration, Acceleration Academy and Summer Bridge.”
As a sixth grader at Rogers Park Elementary, he already has an idea of what he wants to do in terms of higher education and a career.
“I’m thinking about going into internal medicine or becoming an engineer,” Jackson said. “My dad is a doctor and my mom is a pharmacist, so they inspire me to look toward a medical degree. The engineering side came from ANSEP, but I’ve always loved designing things.”
As for his time at the Middle School Academy, Jackson says his favorite part about the component was the computer build and being able to keep the four-terabyte computer to use at home. Jackson also enjoyed the recent presentation from guest speaker Dr. Sylvia Earle during ANSEP Celebration.
“I used to be really interested in marine biology because I love marine life. I would spend my time researching marine biologists so I thought it was really interesting that there was a world-renowned marine biologist that I hadn’t heard of,” said Jackson. “ANSEP has kind of blown my mind already. Everything about it just blows my mind!”
