By Nicole Thomas
Adair, one of only 200 selected from more than 6,000 applicants, spent a week of intense study at the United States Naval Academy summer STEM program. Marshall, along with the other students, explored STEM training under the direction of distinguished Naval Academy professors in world-class lab facilities located on USNA’s historic campus.
Marshall, who was required to submit examples of STEM-based projects completed during his first two years in high school, believes his experiences in STEM courses at Starkville High School game him an advantage in the highly competitive application process.
“My project was our engineering notebook and robot that won this year’s BEST Robotics state championship and placed seventh at regional competition in Auburn,” Marshall explained.
While at USNA, Adair scored in the top ten of a competitive public-speaking assignment that required him to present a five-minute summary of his project to engineering professors, midshipmen, and fellow STEM students.
“Everyone there was just scary-smart and it was awesome to see so many amazing engineering projects from across the nation,” Marshall said of the experience, but he wasn’t intimidated by the lofty competition. “I was just happy to be there – Starkville High School BEST Robotics is an amazing program and we can compete with anyone.”