Madison Echols likes filling out applications.
She likes the introspection the essay questions and interviews allow her. She liked the process of applying to Harvard University, and she liked applying to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar.
“I feel like I really liked the opportunity to get to think about my passions and think about why I am the way I am and the events in my life that define me,” Echols told The Dispatch. “That kind of framed my application. Through it all, I feel like I’ve been able to advocate for myself more and know myself better, so I thought it was great.”
Echols is a senior at Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and was one of 161 students chosen for the 59th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars. The program is not a scholarship program, but it recognizes high achieving high school seniors for accomplishments in academics, the arts and career and technical education fields.
Roughly 4,000 students are invited to apply for the program. Since 2013, six students from MSMS have been selected for the honor, but she is the first since 2020.
The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was created in 1964, and it covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. families living abroad, the U.S. Department of Education website says.
Echols said there will be an online ceremony for the scholars.
Echols is originally from Lamar County, and she said growing up as a Black Southerner has shaped who she is and what she does. She said she wants to show others like her what can be achieved if you believe in yourself.
“If you don’t see people around you in positions, you don’t necessarily feel like you can do them yourself,” Echols said. “… A lot of times I was the only Black girl, or Black person in general. I feel like that and the idea that Black people aren’t meant to be smart and the air or nature of Black inferiority in Mississippi shaped me a lot.”
Echols is set to compete in the International Science Engineering Fair next week, which will be the second time she has been. The first time her research was on the negative impacts of nicotine with fruit flies as the model organism. This year her research is on the potential for vitamin D3 to serve as a therapeutic against degeneration caused by Type 2 diabetes.
She said participating in ISEF and meeting all of the professional and teen scientists exposed her to career opportunities she never imagined. Because of the fair, she decided she wants to work in biostatistics, which includes applying statistics to biological research.
The Harvard-bound senior said the questions for the U.S. Presidential Scholar Program allowed her to expound a little more on some of her answers on her Harvard application. Three prompts she remembers from the program’s application were how her hometown has shaped her, something she changed her opinion on, and include a picture of something important to you and write what it means.
Echols chose her mom, who passed away when Echols was just 8.
“We were sitting in the Dick’s Sporting Goods parking lot one time,” Echols said. “My dad said, ‘So kids,’ talking to my older brother, younger sister and I. He said, ‘What did you learn from your mother’s death?’ And I just exploded. I was like, ‘What are you talking about? You can’t learn anything from this.’
“Then the more I talked to my dad about it, if you don’t learn anything from this, especially things that happen that you perceive as bad, then it happened in vain,” Echols continued. “Looking at the challenges I go through with that outlook, I think it’s caused me to appreciate them more and not see them as setbacks but catalysts for growth. I feel like that loss really shaped me in how I go through life.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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