
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, October 16, 1994                   TAG: 9410170023
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Medium

FORT CHISWELL STUDENT SPENDS SUMMER SCHOOL AT HARVARD

Last summer, after completing her junior year at Fort Chiswell High School, Kerrie Lee had a choice between spending most of her summer at Cornell or Harvard University.

It is not a choice that comes to many high school students. Lee had applied for admission to summer programs at both universities.

Lee, who also attends the Southwest Virginia Governor's School near Dublin, sought advice from Margaret ``Pat'' Duncan, the school's director. Duncan pointed her to Harvard.

Lee took classes in biomedical ethics and religion in American society during her eight weeks at Harvard, and got a B in each one.

``I think this was a really good experience,'' she said, reporting on her summer to the Governor's School board. ``It helped me to know how college life is really going to be.''

She plans to seek admission to Harvard. ``I'm sure I'm going to go into some form of biology - either genetic engineering or premed,'' she said.

She is among 97 students this year who spend half of their school day taking classes in math, science or technology at the Governor's School. The students come from Pulaski, Giles, Floyd, Wythe, Bland and Smyth counties and the city of Galax.

Lee said that the advanced Governor's School courses with students from these other localities helped her prepare for her Harvard experience.

Walter White, the Wythe County School Board representative to the Governor's School board, said Lee was carrying on a tradition established by her sisters. Denise, Christine and Winona, and her brother, Robert, who also attended Fort Chiswell High School and cleaned up on that school's academic excellence awards.

by CNB